Black Moon, Eclipse of the Sun
by Arthur Hansen
Summary: A continuation of Sailor Ranko. Epilogue finally finished.
1. Chapter 1

  
Black Moon - Eclipse of the Sun  
  
Chizuko flew overhead, as Sailor Sun and Sailor Io roof hopped  
toward Rei's shrine. She soared, and banked. Except for the  
strange colors, the sky reminded the bird of solar flares, and  
flying through stellar winds kicked up by the sun.  
  
With eyes honed to find dangerous sunspots, the bird watched over  
her mistress. Or was that Master? It was very confusing. It was so  
much easier when Chizuko had first met Angwyn. She had befriending  
the lost creature, which was freezing in the cold of space.  
  
Chizuko had to laugh at that. It was far colder here on Earth than  
that day in the Sun's corona. But with magical aid, the bird could  
live outside of the Sun. Its natural form was hardly physical,  
more pure energy, radiant and bright. But it had seen such amazing  
sights. It almost wasn't believed that life could exist away from  
the Radiant. It had shocked Chizuko's people when they had  
discovered that life thrived out in the cold void named Nephrim,  
which meant death and despair. But Angwyn had managed to visit for  
a few short hours at great expense of power, to prove that she  
existed.  
  
Chizuko started to circle lower, as they approached the shrine.  
Already, it had spotted Sailors Mars and Mercury. They waved to  
Chizuko, and the approaching pair.  
  
"Well, finally. You two might get a week off, but some of us still  
had work to do," Sailor Mars said with a grin.  
  
"Rei! They're newlyweds! They deserve their time," Sailor Mercury  
said with a bit of outrage.  
  
"Ami, I was teasing. You really need to get a better sense of  
humor, you know that?" Sailor Mars replied. She had a frustrated  
look on her face.  
  
Sailor Mercury blinked, and then smiled. "Oh. Sorry."  
  
"That's all right, Ami. How have guys been doing?" Sailor sun, nee  
Ranma Saotome asked. Chizuko landed on a tree nearby.  
  
"Oh, not too bad. We've been hunting the last of the youma that  
Jadeite had created. By the way, I want to welcome you two back.  
It's good to see you guys," Sailor Mercury responded. "We are  
going to be scouting out Jadeite's dimension again today. We're  
also bringing something special with us. Everyone else is tied up,  
and we thought that you two would want to help."  
  
"Sure, Ami. Ready when you are," Sailor Io, nee Akane Saotome,  
said with grin. This was her first mission as one of the Sailor  
Senshi. It didn't sound that exciting though.  
  
  
"Here are the portal controls," Sailor Mercury said, showing what  
appeared to be three large wristwatches with buttons and LCD  
screens. She explained how to use them quickly, and then resumed  
the conversation. "We just want to check to make sure we didn't  
miss anyone, and take care to make sure that no youma are using  
Jadeite's base. Some of the new ones he made were fairly smart.  
We'll have to clear them out some day, but first we need to get  
rid of the ones stranded here on Earth. Grab a backpack and let's  
get started. Any questions?"  
  
The three Senshi shook their heads, and Sailor Mercury gave them  
their 'watches'. She rapidly entered some instructions, and a  
portal opened, showing the desolate realm of Jadeite. The four  
girls stepped through, followed by a hawk. Chizuko pumped her  
wings, gaining altitude quickly, With a birds eye view she looked  
down at the ruins of Jadeite's dreams. The fortress was still  
formidable, but showed no signs of life. His gardens, with their  
strange fruits, had wilted without care. Soon everything would be  
dust.  
  
The rest of them started to scout out the remainder of the area,  
making sure that no one was left behind. Thousands of people had  
been kidnapped by Jadeite, and some had been missed on the first  
rescue mission. They had come back several times, and found a few  
people that were still missing. They were pretty sure that they  
had everyone now, but there were still a few areas that needed to  
be scouted out.  
  
Two hours later, they had finally checked out the last complex.  
"Well, it looks like we're done finally. Except hunting for the  
youma that have run into the surrounding desolation. We'll just  
have to check on Jadeite's fortress every few weeks to make sure  
they don't move in and try to set up home," Sailor Mercury said.  
  
Sailor Io nodded, "That's pretty smart. Don't want a repeat of the  
invasion."  
  
Chizuko glided to a nearby resting perch, and spoke up. "I think  
I've spotted an encampment of youma, about ten miles into the  
surrounding hills."  
  
Sailor Sun looked up in surprise. "Really? How many?"  
  
"Only a dozen or so, Mistress. But it looks like a battle raged  
near there. Is it possible the youma fought among themselves, and  
these are the survivors?" Chizuko asked.  
  
Everyone looked over at Sailor Mercury. "It's possible. There  
might have been a struggle to see who would be in charge. We can't  
leave them though. We'll have to wipe them out on the next visit,"  
Sailor Mercury said.  
  
"Why wait? I say we go take them out right now," Sailor Mars said.  
She made a dramatic pose, like she was getting ready to fight  
right then and there.  
  
"Because the only one of us that has any real power is Sailor Sun.  
Do you really want to go and fight a dozen youma by being just  
pretty?" Sailor Mercury scolded. "You all know that we are cut off  
from our planets."  
  
Sailor Mars shook her head in frustration and opened her mouth,  
but was cut off by Sailor Sun. "Why don't I charge you guys up,  
and then we go deal with the problem? 'Sides, Akane looks like she  
wants to try out her new powers," Sailor Sun replied.  
  
Sailor Mercury blinked, and then nodded sagely. "That would work.  
We haven't tried that before."  
  
Sailor Sun held out her hand palm up and then motioned the others  
to clasp her hand. Slowly Sailor Sun focused on releasing the  
energy into them, just like she had when they blasted Jadeite.  
Soon the other senshi felt charged and ready to continue. All too  
quickly, they were trotting through the afternoon heat, keeping to  
the shade of outcroppings.  
  
Chizuko led them to a jutting overlook, where they could make  
their plans. All of them could feel the evil emanating from below.  
Sailor Io wrinkled her forehead in distaste. They waited and  
counted the youma, making sure how many there were. They were  
positive that there were at least thirteen left. Making some  
impromptu plans, they sprang into action.  
  
Working in pairs, they started to blast the strongest of youma.  
Four, including the leader, died before they could even figure out  
what was happening. After that, it ended up taking about fifteen  
minutes to finish the fight.  
  
"Hey, Akane, just let yourself flow with your new powers. It'll  
come naturally," Sailor Sun said over her shoulder.  
  
Sailor Io focussed, and then released with a shout of 'Fiery Ice  
Shard' her new attack. It was aptly named, being a large shard of  
ice that exploded in a burst of fire. "Wow, that's much more  
powerful than even your ki attacks, Ranma." Akane said, letting  
her get distracted for just a moment. She was nearly paid a costly  
lesson, but managed to duck at the last moment.  
  
"Hey, ixnay on the names you two. The disguise fields don't work  
if you shout your names around," Sailor Mars said as she ducked a  
blow, and then blasted the youma.  
  
The battle ended soon after words. They split up and searched the  
encampment. Unfortunately, they found the remains of two people,  
drained hideously. Sailor Io clasped a hand to her mouth, and  
rushed outside.  
  
Sailor Mars yelled, "Damn youma. They were just food to them.  
Nothing but cows being led to the slaughter."  
  
"Come on. Let's get out of here. I think we've seen enough,"  
Sailor Mercury said, dragging them away from the bodies. She  
looked quite sick.  
  
"We can't leave them here, Ami. They need a proper burial or rite.  
It isn't right to leave them," Sailor Mars said. She shook herself  
free, and went back in. Carefully she wrapped the dried bodies up  
in some cloth from the encampment, and then dragged them out into  
the open. Sailor Sun helped as best she could.  
  
Sailor Mars took a moment to compose her thoughts. The other  
Sailor Senshi had recovered their composure, and bowed their heads  
in respect. Sailor Mars started to chant a short pray for the  
departed. She might not be a full priestess, but she could do some  
rites when called upon.  
  
Waiting a few minutes, Sailor Mercury pulled out packages and  
handed them to everyone. "Now for the last part of the mission.  
This is an inhospitable world, and we could terra-form it. It  
might take a long time, but look what you could have! An empty  
world, just waiting to spring to life." Sailor Mercury seemed to  
be enrapt on the idea. "Maybe someday, we'll be able to send  
people here to help with over crowding on Earth!"  
  
"Wow, who thought of that?" Sailor Io asked.  
  
"Would you believe that Usagi did? She just hated looking at this  
place, and seeing it so barren and lifeless. She made a comment  
that she wished that it could at least have grass," Sailor Mercury  
said.  
  
"Yeah, she was all upset until Ami told her that you could change  
a world and make it livable. She seemed to think it's a great  
idea, and named the world Solitude. So we're going to try. Let's  
spread the seeds as wide a possible. We want to put them in or  
next to water, right Ami?" Sailor Mars said.  
  
"That's right! Let's do it, and then meet back here in fifteen  
minutes," Sailor Mercury said.  
  
They split up into pairs, and did their assigned tasks quickly. In  
almost no time they were back together. Though Sailor Sun did  
cheat a little, using Chizuko to take her package and spreading it  
better.  
  
"So what are we spreading around?" Sailor Io asked when they got  
together.  
  
"Ferns, grasses, lichens, and molds mostly. I also slipped in some  
acorns. They should do fine in this area, I think," Sailor Mercury  
replied. "Well, I think we're done with this mission. Unless  
anyone has something they have to do?" Sailor Mercury asked the  
group. They all started to shake their heads.  
  
"Mistress, I haven't had the chance to look at this place's sun.  
It would only take about a half an hour. May I please?" Chizuko  
asked, preening itself.  
  
Sailor Sun looked over at Sailor Mercury. "I'm sorry, we really  
can't stay that long, Chizuko. Maybe next time," Sailor Mercury  
said.  
  
"Hey, Ami, couldn't Akane and I stick around to wait for Chizuko?  
We could use our portal controllers and head back then. You  
wouldn't have to wait then!" Sailor Sun said.  
  
"I don't know Ranma. We're not supposed to be here with less than  
four of us. The youma can be too dangerous," Sailor Mercury  
reproved.  
  
"Somehow I think that Akane and I'll be fine. After all, we lived  
here for a month with hundreds of youma running around. What do  
you think, Akane?" Sailor Sun asked.  
  
"Really, we'll be fine Ami. And besides, it's only a half an hour.  
What could happen?" Akane asked.  
  
"Besides, I kind of want to visit the cave we lived in the last  
time. It's kind of a special place," Sailor Sun pleaded.  
  
"Oh, ok. But if you aren't back in an hour, we'll bring all of the  
senshi to track you down. Got that?" Sailor Mercury said sternly.  
  
"Sure!" the two newest sailors chorused. Chizuko leaped into the  
air, rising out of sight quickly.  
  
With a few taps of her fingers, Sailor Mercury opened a portal  
back to Earth. She and Sailor Mars stepped through, carefully  
carrying the bodies of the two dead people. With a snap, the  
portal closed.  
  
"Well, Akane? Do you want to go to our cave?" Sailor Sun asked.  
  
"Sure Ranma," She responded as they trotted slightly to the south.  
  
In about fifteen minutes, they had found the entrance to the  
filthy cave that they had been forced to live in for over a month.  
They both wrinkled their noses at the smell. "Ugh, let me purify  
it with my fire, all right?" Sailor Sun said. She clapped her  
hands, and released a beam of heat, vaporizing the grime in the  
cave, and causing the rocks to glow slightly. In the other cave,  
she heated to water to boiling temperature.  
  
"Ranma, why did you want to come here?" Sailor Io asked.  
  
Sailor Sun shushed her for just a second, and then untransformed.  
Using the water in the second cave, she switched back to her  
proper gender. Smiling at Sailor Io, he stepped outside where they  
had practiced for hours upon hours. Taking her cue from her  
husband, Akane also untransformed.  
  
"Because I wanted to leave a mark here," Ranma said. Very  
carefully, he started to carve a large heart in bas relief on the  
rock face. He used his ki to explode very small amounts of the  
rock. In a few minutes, he signed his and Akane's name in the  
heart. "Do you like it?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Oh, Ranma, it's perfect. We do have so many good memories here  
don't we? Which is really strange, considering how hard we were  
trying to get home," Akane said.  
  
Ranma enclosed her in a light hug, and kissed her, silencing any  
further talking. They were still preoccupied when they heard the  
cry of a hawk in the air. With impish grins, they transformed  
again. Sailor Sun sent a flare of energy into the air to attract  
Chizuko, who promptly landed.  
  
"It's a little barren, Mistress. But there are beings like me  
there. Unfortunately they didn't trust me, so I didn't get the  
chance to talk to them much. They said they would have to talk to  
their thinkers before I came back," Chizuko said.  
  
"Well, at least that's something. It was quite odd to find out  
that there were creatures living on the sun, you know that? Neat,  
but different," Sailor Sun said. "Are we ready then? Let's go  
home." She tapped the keys that would open a portal home. The  
controller beeped a few times, and then buzzed. She tried again,  
with the same results.  
  
"That's odd. What does 'no link established' mean any ways?"  
Sailor Sun asked. Electronics was never her strength. Actually,  
anything smacking of academics wasn't really her strong point.  
  
Sailor Io tried with her controller, which also beeped a few times  
and then buzzed.  
  
"This isn't funny Ranma. How are we going to get home?" Io asked.  
A hint of panic had crept into her voice.  
  
"I . . . don't know. Let's head back to Jadeite's fortress. Maybe  
some machine there is stopping the controllers," Sailor Sun said  
hopefully.  
  
"Ranma, would you know what it looks like?" Sailor Io fumed.  
  
"Don't worry, Sailor Io. I'm sure that I can be of assistance. I  
am fairly conversant with technology, having learned much from the  
first Sailor Sun," Chizuko said.  
  
With that the three intrepid adventurers headed back to the  
fortress. It didn't take long for them to discover that no machine  
was stopping them from getting back.  
  
Chizuko did have better news it seemed. "It looks like the portal  
machine is down or being fixed. The spatial beacon that Jadeite  
planted still seems to be working though. So we could use his  
device to send us home. But it doesn't have enough energy for all  
of us, unfortunately," Chizuko said finally.  
  
Sailor Sun snickered. "So why don't I charge it up with my power?  
If there's one thing I've got, it's a lot of power. Might as well  
use it for something other than blasting the bad guys."  
  
Chizuko blinked, and then nodded. "That is a very good idea. With  
a few hours of effort, you should be able to charge the entire  
castle for months. But prolonged use of your higher phase powers  
is detrimental to your health, Mistress."  
  
"It is?" Sailor Sun yelped. She made a warding gesture against  
evil spirits.  
  
"Unfortunately, your Solar Flare power and the greater variant  
used against the Dark Kingdom's fleet are quite dangerous. Angwyn  
didn't survive her use of her higher phase powers. But she knew  
that, and was willing to lay down her life to save the kingdom."  
Chizuko bowed its head in memory.  
  
"Why is it so dangerous?" Sailor Io asked.  
  
"The metaphasic technology that allows Sailor Sun to tap into the  
geo life force of the Sun was considered dangerously unstable.  
Angwyn's whole life was dedicated to learning how to tap that  
power safely. In many ways, it is like the other Sailor Senshi's  
connection to their worlds, but far less stable. The first phase  
powers were easily accessed, but provided a glimpse of the many  
magnitudes that existed beyond," Chizuko chatted amiably along.  
"They were on par with the powers that could be accessed by the  
Sailor Senshi. The second phase power was about twice as powerful,  
but accurate control eluded her. Continued leakage occurred that  
sterilized Angwyn. It was quite devastating to her when she found  
out."  
  
"So that was the power that she used to wipe out that fleet huh?"  
Sailor Sun asked hopefully.  
  
"No, that was an experimental phase three power level. That power  
was used knowing it would kill her. It caused an area of space  
millions of kilometers wide to be heated to one million degrees.  
She shouldn't have felt anything when it went off," Chizuko moped.  
"Do you mind Mistress? I really don't feel like continuing this  
conversation right now."  
  
"Um, sure. Can I charge up the machine so we can go home? I really  
don't feel like staying here any longer," Sailor Sun said. She  
looked over at Sailor Io worriedly.  
  
"Don't worry Ranma. We'll figure out someway of fixing this. You  
need to go see a doctor though. Just to see if you've already hurt  
yourself," Sailor Io smiled, trying to reassure the shorter girl.  
  
Chizuko led them to the platform that brought Sailor Sun and Akane  
here so long ago. They toiled for about an hour, setting up the  
necessary components to be ready to receive a charge. Sailor Sun  
didn't want to worry the others, but the rest of the group should  
have made it here by now. Something was wrong, dreadfully wrong.  
  
The hawk quickly finished the settings, and then set Sailor Sun to  
charge the facility while it modified Sailor Io's portal  
controller to be able to control this facility remotely. It took  
about an hour to charge it sufficiently.  
  
Sailor Sun was incredibly bored by then. Bored and worried. They  
set the coordinates for Tokyo, and jumped through. The portal  
yawned close behind them, on an empty world where life was just  
starting to take hold.  
  
-  
  
The shadowy figure on a throne frowned. This energy was familiar,  
but slightly different. Was it Sailor Moon? It shouldn't be  
possible. The only Sailor Senshi now active would be Pluto. It  
wouldn't matter, one of his minions would be sent to eradicate her  
once and for all. His eyes sparkled for just a second, and it  
almost seemed that the upside down black moon symbol on his  
forehead glowed a dark red. There was no doubt about his eyes  
though. They did glow, showing the evil hidden in the human form.  
  
Pluto had made her fatal mistake. Now the gates of time would  
finally be his. The future would be molded to his whims. And here  
he was sure that Pluto would be the cunning one, hiding until it  
was an opportune time to strike back. She had made a fatal mistake  
too early in the game.  
  
Black shadows swirled around him. One of the shadows separated  
itself from the mass of darkness. It resolved itself into an  
almost skeletal shape. Its eyes glowed red. "What is your bidding,  
master?" it said in a sibilant whisper.  
  
"Hunt for Sailor Pluto. Bring her body to me, so that I may have  
the key to time," the figure on the throne crooned. Its eyes of  
fire closed for just a second. "She is hiding in Nerima. You know  
what to do."  
  
"Yes, master," it hissed in response.  
  
-  
  
Genma was startled out of his sleep by a bright light appearing  
next to him. He turned over and blinked. His son was glowing where  
he lay. Genma scratched his head with his Panda claws for a  
second. Wasn't he a boy when he went to bed? And when did she get  
dressed?  
  
Ranma sat straight up, and gasped. She clutched her head, moaning  
in agony. Ranma felt suddenly crowded in her own head. Hearing a  
familiar growling she looked up and then read the sign the panda  
wielded... 'What's going on?'  
  
"Akane!" Ranma yelled, bouncing out of bed. She charged over to  
her old room, then slammed the door open, just in time to see  
Akane stagger towards the door, holding to the desk for support.  
She was dressed as she had been earlier in the day.  
  
"I'm all right, Ranma. What happened?" Akane asked.  
  
Genma growled a sound that the rest of the household had figured  
out meant as 'yeah'.  
  
"I don't know. This is really odd," Ranma muttered. "We're back at  
the Tendo's, though."  
  
"Hey, Akane, what happened to your hair? Isn't that a little  
short, even for you?" Nabiki asked from the door.  
  
"Ranma, how could you let that principal do that to your fianc'ee?  
Have you no shame?" Soun wept from right behind Nabiki.  
  
Ranma focussed on Soun for just a moment? "Fianc'ee?" She had a  
bad premonition.  
  
Soun started to bawl, bemoaning the injustice of such an  
ungrateful boy. The panda started to pat him on the back in a  
comforting gesture.  
  
Nabiki sighed, "Yeah, the girl you're holding. My little sister,  
remember?" Ranma was acting even goofier than normal. Heck, Ranma  
was even holding Akane like she cared about her.  
  
Akane shook her head momentarily, trying to shake away some  
memories that agreed with what Nabiki said. "Nabiki, are you all  
right? Ranma and I have been married for over a week," Akane said  
loudly.  
  
Silence reigned for a full minute. Finally, Soun broke the  
silence. "Akane, are you feeling well?"  
  
"Dad! Ranma and I wanted to get married. Even if the others blew  
up the wedding, we're still married. See?" Akane said, as she held  
up her wedding ring.  
  
This was too much for everyone except for Kasumi. As a group, they  
fainted with expressions of disbelief on their faces. Kasumi  
summed it up quite nicely with her response, "Oh my heavens! How  
wonderful!"  
  
Akane and Ranma just looked at each other in surprise. What was  
going on? Soon everyone was dragged down to living room, and  
awakened. Nabiki awoke first.  
  
"I could have sworn I just had a nightmare," Nabiki mused to  
herself.  
  
"Nabiki! I can't believe you. Why can't you accept that Ranma and  
I got married," Akane cried out. Ranma just watched owlishly.  
  
"I'll believe it when I see the papers, little sister," Nabiki  
said with a grin. She didn't know what was going on, but it was  
probably some scam like that time they pretended to be married to  
trick Ukyo.  
  
Ranma squinted at Nabiki for a moment, and then pulled out her  
wallet, "Ok. Here you go. I've got my pocket photocopy right  
here," Ranma said nonchalantly.  
  
Nabiki blinked so hard that you could hear it. She snatched the  
small piece of paper out of Ranma's hands, and started to read it  
furiously. "Oh, shit. This looks real." She paused just a second.  
"But the date is wrong. It's for the day before the wedding,"  
Nabiki said as she smiled.  
  
Akane put her hand on Ranma's shoulder, "Of course it is, it was  
the 'wedding insurance'... remember?" Akane giggled for a second  
and then continued on, "See, it has both of our signature stamps  
on it. It shows Akane Saotome now on my inkan!"  
  
Genma and Soun materialized behind Nabiki with an audible 'pop'.  
"It looks real, Saotome. Finally our houses are joined. Oh happy  
days!" Soun said, starting to dance with the panda. The panda  
started exploding party favors and waving signs around,  
proclaiming his joy.  
  
"Well, I'm going to bed. We still have school tomorrow, you know,"  
Nabiki said with a smirk. She'd stay up just long enough to watch  
Ranma get kicked out of Akane's room. No way was she going to be  
fooled by Ranma of all people.  
  
Soun started weeping again, "Saotome, let us celebrate."  
  
The panda nodded his head vigorously. Together, they walked out  
into the night, looking for a bar.  
  
"You two should go to bed. It's late you know," Kasumi chided,  
shuffling the two up the stairs.  
  
"Just a second, Akane. I've got to go get my stuff out of my old  
room and get some hot water," Ranma said as he trotted down the  
hall.  
  
"Sure Ranma. I'm going to change for bed," Akane said over her  
shoulder.  
  
Ranma reappeared in the hall with her stuff in a big pile.  
Carefully, she slid open the door to Akane's room, and slipped in.  
She reappeared, and went into the bathroom. Ranma finally went  
into Akane's room, and closed the door. Nabiki smirked again. Good  
acting at least, she thought. She waited a moment for sounds of  
fighting or screaming. When it didn't occur she headed into her  
own room, unpacking her microphone as she strained to hear sounds  
through the wall.  
  
Nabiki waited a few more seconds, and then slid a microphone over  
to Akane's windows on a fishing pole to listen in on the couple's  
conversation. She'd have her proof that they weren't married any  
moment.  
  
"Huh, that was a little weird. All of my stuff was back in my  
pop's old room. And odd ending to an odd day, I guess," Ranma said  
quietly.  
  
"Well, we'll deal with that in the morning. We're newlyweds,  
remember? Right now I have other plans," Akane purred.  
  
"Hmm, I think I know what you're planning," Ranma replied softly.  
  
Nabiki couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was impossible.  
What she heard next shocked her. In a few moments, she turned off  
the microphone. Not that she needed to have it to hear what was  
going on in the next room. Akane was enthusiastic, to put it  
mildly.  
  
Nabiki just stared at the wall that separated her room from  
Akane's. How very strange.  
  
-  
  
Kasumi was humming a nice little tune when she heard yells of  
combat from outside. She stuck her head out of the kitchen to  
watch Ranma and Akane fly through the air, trading blows faster  
than she could make out. "How nice! It looks like Akane decided to  
take father Saotome's place this morning," Kasumi said with a  
small smile, heading back to her beloved kitchen.  
  
Nabiki grumbled, and sat down at her normal place. She glanced  
around trying to spot where her father was. She was distracted for  
a moment by Akane yelling at Ranma, telling him that they were  
going to be late. Then the last night's events crashed into her  
psyche when she saw Akane. "'Morning Akane. I've got to get to  
school early today. I'll see you then," Nabiki said, stuffing some  
rice in her before dashing out the front door, passing her sister.  
  
"Uh, bye Nabiki. See you in a while," Akane called, suppressing a  
shiver down her spine. "Ranma! We need to get to school as fast a  
possible. Nabiki just left," Akane shouted.  
  
"Uh, oh," Ranma said as he dashed up the stairs. In record time,  
they both reappeared ready for school. They dashed out the front  
door.  
  
"Ranma, I think we want to get to school as fast as possible,"  
Akane said in between breaths.  
  
"Right! Let's hit the roof tops then." And with that, they both  
leaped up and onto the roofs. "Umm, Akane. Why are we going to  
Furinkan High School? We've been going to Juuban High for a while  
now, " Ranma continued to speak as they dashed to school.  
  
"I'm not sure. It just feels right. I think we should start  
looking for answers there. I want to know why everything is weird,  
and what happened to the other senshi." Akane replied.  
  
Distance was eaten quickly, and they cleared the fence just in  
time to hear Kuno yell, "What? Akane Tendo declares she is married  
to Ranma Saotome? Never shall I let this travesty stand. So swears  
Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High School!" Thunder  
rumbled off in the distance. "Saotome has gone too far this time.  
I shall hold back nothing!"  
  
Kuno then spun towards the gate and spotted Ranma instantly. He  
charged Ranma from fifty feet away in a berserk fury. Ranma  
thought for a second then gathered his ki into his hands. Waiting  
until Kuno raised his hands to strike at him, he unleashed his ki  
blast, destroying the bokken.  
  
Kuno stopped and stared in surprise at Ranma and then the handle  
of his bokken. "How dare you use foul sorcery to destroy my  
weapon, Saotome," Kuno cried out.  
  
"Sorcery? Kuno have you gotten your eyes examined? That was pure  
martial arts. Just because you can't do one, doesn't mean that  
it's magic," Ranma snorted. Now Ranma remembered why they moved  
back to Juuban.  
  
"Disgusting lair! I shall return and defeat you even with your  
sorcery and fell magics!" Kuno said loudly. Ranma just shook his  
head. At least some things never changed.  
  
Akane was shaking her head when she felt an attack from behind.  
With a loud clang, a huge combat spatula connected to the back of  
her head. Akane grunted, and then staggered. "Oww."  
  
"How dare you try and steal Ranma-honey, Akane? My claim's as  
strong as yours is. His father took my dowry. Ranma is mine! I  
thought you understood that? He's mine!" Ukyo cried out, tears in  
her eyes. She stopped yelling for a second, mostly because Akane  
wasn't on the ground moaning in pain. As a matter of fact, she was  
glowing brightly, hands clenched tightly.  
  
"Ukyo, how dare you? Attacking someone from behind!" Akane yelled,  
showing herself to be much more angry than hurt.  
  
"I don't need to attack you from behind. Let's settle this once  
and for all. Winner takes all!" Ukyo yelled, a frantic tone to her  
voice. It had been a bad week for her. Ranma hadn't talked to her  
or even come over to Uchan's.  
  
"Ukyo, don't make me . . .. " Akane pleaded in vain, and Ukyo  
swung her weapon again. Ukyo swung her spatula like it weighed  
nothing, using it like a great swordsman uses the finest of  
blades.  
  
But all of the attacks were to no avail. Not one hit connected or  
even came close. "Fine Ukyo, winner takes all," Akane replied  
finally. Then she went on the offensive. Sixteen blows to each of  
Ukyo's hands, disarming her in the blink of an eye. Then a snatch  
to grab the spatula before it hit the ground. Finally, she rained  
three blows to Ukyo's head with her own weapon.  
  
Ukyo stood there stunned with the rest of the crowd, who all made  
sounds of 'ooh,' 'ah,' and finally one comment voiced by Nabiki,  
"Wow."  
  
Ukyo then slumped to the ground, unconscious before she hit the  
dirt. Her spatula landed on the ground next to her.  
  
Akane brushed her hands off, and then turned to Ranma. A  
mischievous grin crossed her face. She took three quick steps, and  
grabbed Ranma's head. To the utter amazement of everyone but  
Ranma, Akane kissed him full on the lips.  
  
Kuno fainted dead away with a shocked expression on his face.  
Nabiki just stared at her younger sister. Things just weren't  
adding up. This was not her sister. Could it be another case of  
possession? Like the cursed killer doll from that resort, maybe?  
  
Akane finally broke the kiss, and then turned to the crowd, "Does  
anyone else have a problem with my marriage?" Akane said firmly,  
with just a hint of the pain that she would cause anyone who dared  
say yes.  
  
Not a sound could be heard except for the birds chirping in the  
background. Either they were too frightened, or like Nabiki, too  
smart to say anything right now.  
  
With that, the couple walked hand in hand into the school. The  
doors closed softly behind them, leaving pandemonium behind.  
  
Ranma was walking pretty much wherever Akane pulled him. He had  
this huge silly grin on his face. A palm tree frond hitting him in  
the face snapped him out of it finally. He shook his head to clear  
it up, and then glanced around. He shuddered involuntarily. The  
school office spread out in front of him in all the glory of  
Hawaii.  
  
"What's up Akane?" Ranma asked.  
  
"I'm going to check our records, and see if they've got them  
transferred over to Juuban High School. Hopefully that will help  
us figure out what's going on," Akane said distractedly. Ranma  
nodded his agreement.  
  
They waited a few minutes for the lady behind the counter that  
looked like a small grass hut. Finally she came back. "I'm sorry  
Ms. Tendo, but your records haven't been transferred over to  
Juuban High School. It is quite irregular to transfer in the  
middle of the year. I'm sure it won't be approved," the older lady  
said with a trace of resentment.  
  
"Don't you mean its been months since they were transferred,  
ma'am?" Akane asked pleasantly.  
  
"Of course not. You've been here, and I never heard a request to  
have your records sent there. You had an almost perfect  
attendance, until you were kidnapped a few weeks ago." She clucked  
her disapproval. Children these days and their pranks.  
  
"Well, I need them transferred now. Ranma and I are going to be  
moving shortly, and we need our paperwork to follow us," Akane  
said brightly.  
  
The office lady's eyes bugged out. "My goodness. You should be  
married before you move out. It's not proper."  
  
Akane proudly showed off her wedding ring. "We are, thank you!  
It's Akane Saotome now."  
  
"Well, I still don't think we are going to be able to transfer you  
right now. This is highly irregular." The lady glared at them.  
  
Ranma vented some of his frustration in a huge sigh. He looked  
around to see if he could spot something, anything that could be  
used to get them transferred. His eyes lit upon the office of the  
principal. A wide grin split his face. In a booming voice, he  
said, "Well, if we can't transfer, then I'll guess we'll have to  
stay here. I hope I don't get into too many more fights today. And  
I just know that I'm not going to make it on time tomorrow."  
  
On cue, the door opened. "What's dis de be talking about? Ranma  
Saotome needing to be transferred? We's gotta get them paperwork  
through yesterday, Mrs. Takshi. I's don't want none of them types  
in my school. You know the kine." Principal Kuno bounded into the  
outer office, wearing his typical Hawaiian floral shirt, and  
carrying his shears. "Don't worry, paperworks all done, and you  
can be out of here today. Hey Akane, nice haircut lil wahine'. Da  
big kahune' approves. You can transfer too." Principal Kuno beamed  
moronically.  
  
Ranma and Akane walked out, managing not to break out into  
laughter. They let the door close behind them, and then collapsed  
in a fit of laughter. "Sucker. That was too easy," Ranma managed  
to say between fits of laughter. Akane could only nod her head in  
agreement.  
  
After finally catching their breath, they stood up in  
preparation leave. Ranma looked quizzically at Akane. "So, where  
are we going to go?" Ranma asked.  
  
Akane rolled her eyes in disparagement. "I think we need to  
catch a bus to Juuban High School. What were you thinking?" Akane  
asked. Honestly, if it didn't relate to a fight, Ranma was always  
expecting her to do the thinking.  
  
"The same, of course. I just wanted to see if we were  
thinking the same thing," Ranma said with a mirthful grin. With  
that they tore off down the hallway.  
  
Nabiki stepped out around the corner just as they went out of  
sight. "So what's in Juuban? And why do they have to go there?"  
Nabiki muttered to herself. Another mystery to solve. At least she  
knew where they were going. Nabiki spun on her heel, and walked to  
the payphone in the foyer. She slipped some yen into the machine,  
and dialed a number she had on a slip of paper. Reaching into her  
pocket, she pulled out Ranma's copy of the wedding certificate.  
  
"Clerk's office," a male voice answered.  
  
"Hello, is this the clerk's office of marriage licenses?" Nabiki  
asked.  
  
"Yes, ma'am. The line isn't too long right now. We can fit you in  
if you wanted to come right over," the nasally voice said over the  
phone.  
  
"I'm calling to check the authenticity of a marriage license. I  
think someone's trying to play a joke on me. I have the ID number  
on the supposed marriage certificate," Nabiki said smoothly.  
  
The voice sighed, and then replied, "One moment please. The number  
please?" Nabiki answered with the number.  
  
"Now this is odd. It appears that the record does exist, but  
appears to be damaged. Let me try to check it from the archive.  
One moment please," He said finally. Minutes later, he came back  
on the line, and spoke up. "It appears that we'll need to contact  
the couple. Do you happen to know a Ranma, last name unknown? I'm  
afraid the only thing we have on the girl is her last name. It  
looks to be a Miss Tendo. Are you a friend of either of these  
people, or did I give you the information you needed?" He asked,  
patiently waiting for a reply.  
  
Nabiki let her eyes almost close, focusing on nothing. "His name  
is Ranma Saotome. The girl is named Akane Tendo," Nabiki finally  
answered. Her mind was awhirl. Akane and Ranma hadn't known about  
the wedding until the morning of the wedding day. So they couldn't  
have sneaked out to get the paperwork done. "Does it say who  
filled out the paperwork or who was the witness?" she finally  
asked.  
  
"Um, sure one moment. Now that's odd, it says that I prepared it.  
I don't remember. I'm sure I would remember a name like Ranma."  
The sound of humming filled the phone for a few seconds. "Ah, luck  
is with us Miss. I've got a name on one of the witnesses. She must  
be a sister. One Nabiki Tendo. Do you know her or how to contact  
her?" he asked.  
  
"Are you absolutely sure of that?" Nabiki felt a strange sense of  
deja vu strike her. Looking closely at the document, in the corner  
where witnesses signed. There was her distinctive stamp, in  
miniature. How could she have missed it? It was like her eyes just  
washed over that section of the certificate.  
  
"Of course ma'am. Thank you for your help, we'll be contacting the  
Saotome's for further clarification," the man said, before hanging  
up.  
  
"I know I didn't sign this. So how come I feel like I did, I just  
can't remember the time?" Nabiki wondered out loud.  
  
"Nabiki Tendo! Hast thou discovered how the scoundrel Saotome has  
forced Akane to lie, and say these horrid, terrible things?" a  
familiar upperclassman asked suddenly from behind her. Kuno  
frowned slightly. Nabiki must be working very hard, she didn't  
even notice him until he started to talk.  
  
"No, Kuno baby, not yet. But I'm going to find out. And nothing is  
going to stop me," Nabiki said determinedly. And with that, she  
started to walk down the hall at a fast clip.  
  
"Meethinks many oddities be afoot. Couldst it be a spirit, angry  
and restive? Or as they might say, something wicked this way  
comes," Kuno tried to rhyme. Unfortunately, his sense of melodrama  
was on the spot.  
  
-  
  
The shadow searched in vain. How could any of them hide so well?  
It was almost as if they just disappeared, only to spring into  
existence at the strangest of times. The entire night had been  
spent in a futile search of this area of Tokyo. Bare glimmerings  
of power wafted here and there.  
  
Despite the shadow's effort, nothing concrete had come to light to  
uncover the Senshi of Time had been found. "Damn her to the  
periphery of time," it muttered. It burned for revenge long  
denied.  
  
Its master would not brook failure. So it would stay here until  
summoned, or die at the master's feet. It had garnered special  
abilities, especially for hunting the elusive mistress of time.  
The shadow had thought to seek out the strange energies around the  
high school. But that had proven fruitless too. The shade stared  
at the school from the shade of the trees.  
  
It knew of a different way to bring its quarry to it. A dangerous  
path, but worth the price, if it would slay Pluto. The shadow  
would gleefully trade its life for one good chance at slaying its  
ancient and hated foe. It was a spiteful thing, only half alive  
and not really there. "Yes, it's time to play. Won't you come out,  
Sailor Pluto?" the thing chuckled darkly.  
  
A small breeze started to drift from the trees. Softly it sang of  
a hurt kitten, pitifully crying for help. The lure set, the shadow  
waited for its prey. In a few short minutes, a girl at the edge of  
the school wandered its way. The girl followed the sounds deeper  
and deeper into the woods. The shadows were finally dark enough.  
  
Yuka had time for one short scream, as darkness engulfed her. She  
collapsed in a heap of writhing, ebony smoke. She tried to scream  
one more time. Instantly, the smoke swirled around her head,  
gaining entrance into its victim's mouth. The last of the inky  
blackness disappeared between her lips.  
  
Yuka stiffened, and then jerked on the roots of the trees.  
Suddenly she relaxed. With careful movements, the girl stood up,  
then made her way back to Nerima High School. It was time to make  
a commotion.  
  
-  
  
Laughing and playing an elaborate game of high-speed tag, Ranma  
and Akane exited the school with all of their locker items. Ranma  
jerked to a halt suddenly. Akane plowed right into him, knocking  
them both over into the wet grass. Ranma instantly shifted into  
his cursed form.  
  
"Watch it, you clumsy tomboy. Didn't you feel that?" Ranma yelled  
at Akane.  
  
"Ranma! You jackass! You should talk about being clumsy. You were  
the one who tripped me," Akane yelled right back. Didn't she  
realize how much it hurt when she really called her a tomboy? She  
pulled back her arm in preparation to strike at her significant  
other.  
  
"Akane, not now. Don't you feel it? It's like a cold breeze in  
your spine," Ranma whispered fiercely.  
  
Akane stopped herself for just a second, and focused on that  
awareness that warned of danger and wrongness. Her eyes snapped  
open, and then searched the yard. "Where is it Ranma?" she asked  
quietly.  
  
"I don't know. Some youma can possess people, hiding until they  
strike. Jadeite used some in his invasion," Ranma whispered back.  
She blinked to her feet, taking an unassertive stance that was  
incredibly deceptive. With a calm glance, she assessed everyone  
near her for signs of possession. Clouds covered the Sun, as a  
storm appeared to be on its way.  
  
Akane looked around, also trying to spot anything out of the  
ordinary. She just about jumped out of her skin, when a cheerful  
voice piped up behind her. "Hi, Akane. You sure made everyone  
excited this morning," Yuka said, smiling easily. Yuka looked like  
she had just tumbled in the grass. Her hair was messed, and she  
had a few grass stains on her skirt.  
  
"Oh, hi Yuka. Uh, something's come up. Ranma and I are moving out.  
Mostly we're moving out to get away from the craziness of Nerima.  
So this is going to be our last day at Nerima High. I hope you're  
not upset that I'm leaving?" Akane asked. Yuka was one of her best  
friends.  
  
"Why would I be upset? I mean you stole all of the attention of  
all of the boys, and then ignored them. You're the one who is  
always getting kidnapped. And you've got the best guys always  
hanging around you. I'm not upset, I'M FURIOUS!" Yuka screamed,  
eyes turning into black orbs. Yuka struck out, an incredibly fast  
and strong blow for a girl that had never studied martial arts in  
her life.  
  
It almost caught Akane off guard for just a moment, but months of  
surviving in the most dangerous world had taught Akane a thing or  
two. So she was surprised when her nose shattered, and the follow  
up blow caught her in her solar plexus. Akane was positive that  
Yuka had missed. She was still thinking that as she tried to get  
her breath back. Akane collapsed to her knees in shock and pain.  
  
"Akane! Aw, crud. Not Yuka," Ranma said, and then leaped to the  
attack. He didn't hold back, using enough force to bend steel.  
Blows rained down on the unsuspecting girl. She should have at  
least felt the first hit. After over a hundred hits, Ranma started  
to worry. Not even Jadeite's youma were this tough. It was like he  
was hitting vapor.  
  
Yuka laughed, and then struck back. Ranma wasn't going to fall for  
whatever Yuka had done to Akane. She dodged and avoided all of the  
blows. At least that's what she thought. Sickening impacts started  
to strike home.  
  
Ranma couldn't believe her eyes. She could see the blows missing.  
Her skin was telling a different story though. Blows strong enough  
to crush cars started to hammer her. Yuka laughed again, a  
maniacal song of discordance.  
  
All of a sudden, Yuka grabbed the air next to Ranma, and then  
lifted her hands as if she had grabbed Ranma by the throat.  
Stunned, Ranma lifted into the air, struggling for breath. Spots  
danced in her eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she finally  
spotted the true battle. Something that was not Yuka's shadow, had  
grabbed Ranma's shadow and was throttling it.  
  
Skeletal hands gripped tighter. Ranma could feel something  
grinding, starting to twist her neck to an unnatural angle.  
  
"Leave her be, demon! None shall harm the pigtailed girl while  
Tatewaki Kuno yet has breath. Strike! Strike! Strike!" Kuno  
yelled. He attacked enthusiastically, fully certain of his  
righteousness. His blows started to rip her clothing, but no  
damage was inflicted other than that.  
  
Yuka sneered, and with strength that any giant would have been  
proud of, hurled Ranma directly at Akane. Akane had just a moment  
to react as she was standing back up. Her arms came up, and  
cushioned the blow. Both of them slammed through a wall, ending up  
in a classroom.  
  
"So, the stick boy has decided to come out and play. Are you  
really that willing to die for you delusions, Blue Blunder?" Yuka  
taunted, smiling tightly. She spun lightly to face him. Suddenly,  
Kuno gulped. Something disconcerted him about those solid black  
orbs. It was if he was staring at an ancient and terrible evil.  
  
Ranma groaned as Akane slowly scrambled to her feet. Akane glanced  
around to see the students fleeing as fast as possible. With a  
newly familiar snap of her wrist, Akane summoned her henshin rod.  
"Io Lumina Power, Make Up!" Akane cried, activating her  
transformation. A swirl of light blasted into existence. In the  
span of a moment, Sailor Io stood ready for battle.  
  
"Akane. Attack its shadow. That's its weakness," Ranma coughed  
hoarsely, eyes unfocussed.  
  
Akane looked back and forth for a moment. Her gaze was dragged  
back to Kuno with the snapping sound of wood. "Don't worry, Ranma.  
I'll be right back." And with that Sailor Io leaped into the fray.  
  
Yuka was searching around with a wide smile. It had worked  
beautifully. She could feel the energy appear suddenly, almost on  
top of her. Sailor Pluto would be hers. Casually, with the short  
broken end of Kuno's bokken, she broke both of Kuno's arms and  
then stabbed him with the jagged edge of the wooden sword. Kuno  
fell to the ground, trying to clutch his hip.  
  
"So finally you show yourself, Sailor Pluto! My master has need of  
something that you have. Please, do resist. It will make it so  
much more pleasurable. For me," the creature that controlled Yuka  
snarled, turning towards the threat. Surprise showed on its face  
for just a second.  
  
"I think you have me confused with someone else. I am Sailor Io,  
and I'm going to hurt you for harming these people. Fiery Ice  
Shards!" Sailor Io yelled, thrusting her hands out, launching her  
attack at the shadow.  
  
"Who? What? NO!" Yuka managed to scream, before miming a hit that  
never actually struck her body. Yuka staggered as Sailor Io  
focused her ki into her hands. Waiting until the last second, she  
unleashed her full speed attack against the shadow on the wall.  
  
It shredded under the onslaught. Yuka seemed to almost dance to  
hits that never struck her. Finally she collapsed as the shadow  
disintegrated. Yuka lay on the ground, without any shadow at all.  
  
Sailor Io glanced around at the crowd that had gathered at a  
healthy distance. She then leaped to the roof, and then  
disappeared in a flash. She landed in a tree on the far side,  
reverting back to her normal form. She then dashed back to Ranma,  
to check on her.  
  
"Oh, Ranma. We need to get you to a hospital," Akane murmured,  
carefully brushing the red bangs out of her eyes.  
  
Ranma peeked her eyes open for just a second. "Just get me  
someplace private, so I can transform. I'll be better in minutes,"  
Ranma said, trying to grin. "You got it, huh?" Sudden coughs  
gripped the smaller girl, speckling Akane's blouse with blood.  
  
"I think we'd better hurry, Ranma," Akane said carefully helping  
Ranma to her feet. Looking around for a moment, Akane gently  
carried the almost unconscious Ranma into the girl's restroom.  
With a little bit of coaxing, she managed to get Ranma to  
transform into Sailor Sun and then set in a stall.  
  
Akane waited anxious minutes for Sailor Sun to awaken. She cleaned  
herself up as best as possible. A scream pierced the air, scaring  
Akane for just a moment.  
  
"What am I doing in the girl's room?" Ranma yelled. This was one  
of his most frequent nightmares. He had never hated pink quite so  
much in his life.  
  
"Great, Ranma! Now we've got to get out of here before someone  
comes to investigate. Let's get out of here," Akane said heading  
for the door after opening the stall.  
  
Ranma muttered curses as she reverted herself to her cursed form  
and following her wife. She felt like her life had been put into a  
blender and turned on puree. Luckily, no one spotted the sometime  
girl exiting the bathroom.  
  
-  
  
Nabiki watched Kuno being put in the ambulance with cool  
detachment. The paramedics were still checking on Yuka, who was  
crying. Nabiki still couldn't believe what she had seen. Yuka, one  
of the nicest and least dangerous girls at Furinkan High, almost  
killed Tatewaki Kuno. Now Kuno might not be the best fighter in  
the school, but Yuka shouldn't have even been able to even touch  
Kuno. Much less hurt him  
  
Nabiki noticed Akane and Ranma walking out and looking around.  
"Well, you two managed to miss the excitement. Where were you?"  
Nabiki jibed them with a grin.  
  
Akane spoke up with an expression like she was trying to hide  
something. "I, uh, pulled Ranma to safety after Yuka beat her up.  
We're all better now though. Really!"  
  
Nabiki squinted at Akane for a second. "What do you mean? You guys  
fought her too?"  
  
"Yeah! She kind of beat us both up before Kuno showed up," Akane  
said with a nervous titter.  
  
"Hey, I was about to take her out. No way was I going to lose to a  
girl like Yuka!" Ranma puffed up like a threatened animal.  
  
"So let me get this right. Yuka defeated Ranma, Kuno and you? And  
then someone I didn't recognize popped up out of nowhere and  
defeated her? Sounds like you'll have some serious competition in  
the hero department Ranma," Nabiki snickered loudly.  
  
"Hmpf. Like I ever really lose," Ranma grumbled.  
  
"So you didn't see who the girl who defeated Yuka?" Akane asked  
hopefully  
  
"Sure I did. I just don't know who she is," Nabiki said, glancing  
to the side as the ambulance took off. Yuka seemed to have calmed  
down for just a moment. Nabiki stared at the girl for just a  
moment. Something seemed to be missing. Where was her shadow?  
  
"Uh, we got to go Nabiki. See you later. Bye, bye," Akane said,  
dragging Ranma off at a fast pace.  
  
Nabiki stared at the retreating forms for a second. How come she  
had the feeling she had just missed an important clue?  
  
-  
  
Usagi groaned, and shifted the buckets in her hands. She'd been  
caught sleeping in class again. It was so unfair. She'd been  
dreaming of being a wonderful and happy princess. Even Mamoru had  
been there, in a dashing suit, dancing with her under the Earthlit  
sky.  
  
Earthlit sky? Now that was a bit odd. Usagi closed her eyes,  
trying to remember her dream again. Yes, there was the Earth,  
hanging low in the sky, just behind the palace walls. So what did  
that mean?  
  
"Usagi! Quit that day dreaming right now. Or are you wanting a  
detention, young lady?" Ms. Fuchiwari said icily, closing the door  
behind her.  
  
"No ma'am. I was trying to recall something from my, uh, er, ah .  
. ." Usagi started to sweat as she tried to avoid talking about  
her dream.  
  
"Usagi, I think you need to talk to your counselor. Maybe he can  
convince you of the importance of being attentive in class. God  
knows I can't," the teacher said with a scowl. She pointed  
imperiously in the direction of the office.  
  
"Yes, teacher," Usagi had the presence of mind to look sorry. She  
started to walk to the office section of the school after dropping  
off her buckets. Glancing around, she spotted the time. Only an  
hour till lunch. Then she could meet up with the rest of the  
group. Maybe they would go see a movie later, or to the arcade  
again. There was a new romance movie out. Usagi started to hum to  
herself. It was just too nice of a day to stay upset over  
anything.  
  
"I said I was sorry. It just popped out. You're not a clumsy  
tomboy," Ranma yelled rounding the corner. Silently he added to  
himself, she just acts like it sometimes. He kept his eyes out for  
any sudden ki manifestations. Or flying objects. Or fists. That's  
why he didn't spot the girl in front of him.  
  
"Really Ranma? Ranma, look out!" Akane yelled suddenly.  
  
"Huh? What? WHOA!" Ranma tried to dodge before colliding with the  
blond haired girl. Now this shouldn't be taken to mean that Ranma  
wasn't capable. Years of martial arts training kicked in, moving  
his body to the best of its abilities. With anyone else, it would  
have been enough. But Usagi reacted exactly wrong, moving at just  
the wrong time in the wrong direction. In other words, she reacted  
typically.  
  
Two bodies slammed into each other, skidding across the floor.  
Each reacted to the crash in their typical fashion.  
  
"Uh, sorry about that," Ranma started to say. He tried to untangle  
himself from the compromising looking position.  
  
He was interrupted Usagi, who started to cry up a storm.  
"Waaaaaaah!" the blonde yowled.  
  
"Look Usagi, I'm really sorry. Please don't cry," Ranma tried to  
soothe her, failing miserably. "Hey, how 'bout I treat you to some  
ice cream?" He said finally. He tried to keep his expression as  
innocent as possible.  
  
Instantly, Usagi perked up. "Sure! Who are you? You're sure  
dreamy," Usagi said suddenly. You could almost see valentine  
shaped hearts appear in her eyes. She clasped her hands, and held  
them right next to her jaw. She looked incredibly adorable all of  
a sudden.  
  
"Huh?" Ranma jumped up suddenly. "What do you mean?" He was  
suddenly amazingly nervous.  
  
Ranma's progress changed trajectory, as a very, very angry Akane  
hit him with an uppercut. His flight was cut a tad short as his  
head impacted into the concrete ceiling. He stuck to the ceiling  
for a moment, and then collapsed into a boneless heap at Akane's  
feet.  
  
"Ranma, we're married now. I am not going to let these  
'misunderstandings' happen anymore. Do you understand me?" Akane  
said loudly, looking directly at Usagi and Ranma. Ranma nodded as  
best he could. She wasn't prepared for the blonde girl's response.  
  
"Oh, how romantic. Hello, my name is Usagi Tsukino. Pleased to  
meet you," Usagi said, bowing as she stood up. Somehow this all  
seemed familiar.  
  
Akane stared, and then responded. "Er, hello Usagi. My name is  
Akane Ten . . . Saotome. This is my husband, Ranma Saotome. Sorry  
for the problem," Akane said, flustered. She gave a little curtsy.  
Ranma finally stood up himself, and bowed a bit.  
  
"Wow, you're really are married? That is so neat. So are you new  
students?" Usagi asked in her best cute act. New friends!  
"Besides, I didn't get hurt a bit. I don't know how though."  
  
"Yes. We, um, just transferred from Furinkan High," Ranma said. He  
shared a quick look of confusion with his wife. "I broke our fall.  
I'm a martial artist."  
  
Usagi's eyes widened. "Is it true that you have to take martial  
arts at Furinkan? There are so many stories about the weirdoes who  
go there," Usagi said in a slightly scared voice.  
  
"Uh, not really. Just some overly inflated egos, and some really  
good martial artists," Akane said, trying to calm Usagi down. She  
sighed to herself. Usagi didn't seem to remember either of them.  
This was bad with a capital 'B'.  
  
"Oh. Ok," Usagi said. She opened up door to the office, and  
politely held it for the couple.  
  
-  
  
Things were starting to unravel for her enemy, the green haired  
women thought to herself. Setsuna held her staff, keeping herself  
out of time. With just the right push, Ranma and Akane would be  
able to discover who was behind these temporal changes.  
  
And maybe if they were lucky, even awaken the other sailors too.  
But something would have to be done to reinforce their true  
memories. Sailor Pluto thought for just a moment. Just a small  
nudge, to guide the errant Sailor Sun to rescue her predecessor's  
companion.  
  
A small smile formed on her lips. Yes, that would be just perfect.  
A picture can speak more eloquently than a novel. Especially if  
the person you're trying to inform doesn't like to read.  
  
Sailor Pluto raised her staff high, and started to spin it ever so  
slightly. Carefully, she released the energy. One slow burst at a  
time, so little that it was scarcely perceptible. Her machinations  
caused a miniscule change in time. So small, even she couldn't  
feel it occur. Her enemy wouldn't either.  
  
After all, what can one picture do, anyway?  
  
-  
  
"Class, I would like to welcome our new students today. This is  
Ranma Saotome and Akane Saotome. Please, tell us about  
yourselves," the teacher said, smiling encouragingly.  
  
"Sure. I'm Ranma Saotome and I'm a martial artist. Pleased to meet  
you," Ranma said and then smiled.  
  
"And I'm Akane Saotome. I'm a martial artist too. We're moving  
into the area," Akane said bowing slightly.  
  
"Are you related? Saotome isn't exactly common, now is it?" the  
teacher asked.  
  
Akane stared at Ranma for a moment, blushing. Ranma blushed a bit  
too. Simultaneously, they responded, "We're married actually."  
  
"Oh. Well no funny stuff while you are in class. Please take your  
seats, and we'll get back to the course materials," the teacher  
said, waving the pair to their seats.  
  
Akane ended up sitting next to Usagi, just like she had before.  
Ranma ended up a few rows back. The rest of the class passed  
fairly normally.  
  
-  
  
Usagi sat under her tree, eating her lunch. Ami, Minako, and  
Makoto sat with her, eating their own lunches. "You wouldn't  
believe this hunk who just transferred guys. He's some sort of  
martial artist, and he's so-o-o handsome," Usagi chatted amiably.  
  
Makoto rolled her eyes. "Oh, sure. And you've fallen for him  
already?" she said.  
  
"No way. He's taken all ready," Usagi whispered conspiratorially.  
"He's married!"  
  
"Usagi! So is she cute?" Makoto asked.  
  
"She kind of scares me a bit. She hit him so hard he bounced off  
of the ceiling," Usagi said seriously, nodding her head at the  
incredulous looks of her friends.  
  
"Well he deserved it. Ranma is always getting into these  
misunderstandings. I have to watch him like a hawk," Akane said as  
she walked up with her lunch box.  
  
"But it's not my fault," Ranma whined a bit as he followed Akane  
up to the group. "My pop stole that cart that one time, and  
Shampoo probably still considers me her husband. I picked you,  
didn't I?"  
  
"Hello, I'm Akane, and this is Ranma," Akane said with a smile.  
She ruffled Ranma's hair affectionately. She whispered to Ranma,  
"I know silly." Ranma felt reassured and sat down, starting to eat  
up.  
  
The girls made their round of introductions. Usagi and Minako  
watched in morbid fascination as Ranma started to inhale his food.  
Makoto glanced over Akane's shoulder at a group of boys walking  
up. She frowned for just a second. These guys had given her some  
problems when she first showed up at school.  
  
"Are you Ranma Saotome?" the leader said, setting himself in an  
aggressive stance. He was fairly average looking, with an unruly  
mess of brown hair, cut just a bit shorter than Ranma's hair. He  
was, of course, wearing a Juuban high school uniform.  
  
"Uh, yeah. Why do you want to know?" Ranma said, carefully  
checking where they stood, and how he would have to attack to  
defeat them all.  
  
"We've heard you're some sort of undefeated hot shot martial  
artist. At least that's what we've heard from Furinkan. I'm Sota  
Jinkan, head of the karate club here," he said. He set himself in  
a casual fighting stance. "I think your reputation is exaggerated.  
No one is as good as they say you are. I'm challenging you to back  
up your reputation."  
  
"Uh, sure. Give me a second," Ranma said, and then turned back to  
his food. He sighed deeply, and then attacked his food with  
blinding speed. In mere moments, all of his food disappeared.  
Ranma closed his lunch box, and then stood up. "All right, I'm  
ready. Any rules?" he asked nonchalantly.  
  
"First one to either give up or is knocked out, loses," Sota said,  
watching Ranma carefully. This guy could be incredibly fast. His  
friends backed up, giving them plenty of room. Akane and the girls  
backed up too.  
  
Akane got a frustrated look on her face. "Don't take too long  
Ranma. We need to get back to class." She really couldn't believe  
that Ranma was getting in another fight. She sighed finally. It  
really wasn't his fault. He did have a reputation to protect.  
  
"Sure!" Ranma said. He looked up at the clock tower checking how  
much time he had left. Sota, seeing an opening, charged in a fast  
and furious attack pattern.  
  
He couldn't believe his eyes as Ranma dodged all of his attacks  
for over two minutes. Ranma then bounced off of Sota's head and  
landed lightly behind him. Ranma spun, and then tapped Sota on the  
back of his head, all in the blink of an eye.  
  
Ranma grinned. "Do you surrender?"  
  
Sota glared for just a moment, and then dropped his hands. "Yeah.  
You're good all right," Sota said. He would just have to train to  
be faster. No way was he going to be shown up in his own school,  
in front of his friends.  
  
"You're not bad yourself. Got some potential, just need to work on  
your speed a bit," Ranma said. He glanced up at the tower as the  
bell tolled, warning that lunch was over. "Well, gotta go."  
  
Grabbing his book bag, Ranma dashed behind Akane back into the  
school. They were almost to their next class when Ranma spotted  
something. He stopped for just a moment, staring at the art  
display. Most of the pictures were of favored anime characters,  
still lifes, and the occasional portraits.  
  
What had caught his attention was a breathtaking rendition of a  
hawk, up against the sun. Its feathers glinted an almost coppery  
or bronze color. Ranma put his hand up to the glass.  
  
"Chizuko," Ranma breathed. What had happened to sun-bird? And why  
hadn't he remembered before now? He would have to talk to Akane  
after school.  
  
-  
  
"Hey, Usagi. Ready for your ice cream?" Ranma said as he and Akane  
met up with Usagi. Makoto and Minako followed behind, carrying  
their book bags.  
  
"I'm always ready for ice cream. And it's a nice way to get to  
know new friends," Usagi said. She giggled for just a moment as  
visions of ice cream danced in her head.  
  
"Do you mind if we tag along, Ranma? We know a great ice cream  
parlor just up the street," Minako said, smiling.  
  
Ranma glanced over at Akane quickly. She elbowed him, and then  
replied for him, "Sure thing. It would be nice to get to know you  
guys too."  
  
And with that they walked down the road, in a small bunch. Ranma  
ended up next to Akane and Minako. Makoto chatted with Usagi about  
her latest culinary triumph. Minako and Akane kept up the small  
talk as they walked down the street. At least until a street  
washer drove by and splashed those closest to the street, Usagi  
and Ranma.  
  
Usagi had a very clear view of Ranma as he seemed to shrink, and  
his hair changed color. Usagi stopped and just stared at Ranma's  
back. Ranma on the other hand had a much different reaction.  
  
"Hey, there are people walking here you know. What is it with  
water and getting me wet!" Ranma yelled at the truck, shaking her  
fist at it as it drove down the road. It ignored her as only heavy  
machinery can, flashing lights as it turned the corner.  
  
"What? That's not possible," Usagi whispered to herself. Her eyes  
grew very big. This sort of thing doesn't happen to a normal girl  
like her.  
  
Minako and Makato stared at the girl that had just appeared in  
their midst. Makoto glared at Ranma. "Who are you, and where did  
Ranma go?" Makoto demanded. Minako nodded her agreement. Usagi  
just clutched her hands to her face, trying to hide her fear.  
  
Ranma's head snapped to the side to stare at Makoto. An uneasy  
smile plastered itself to redhead's face. She glanced over at  
Minako and Usagi and saw the terror in the blonde's eyes. Ranma  
slumped her shoulders forward, and sighed. Akane watched Ranma  
with a bit of concern, but didn't step in to help out. This was  
something that Ranma had to deal with.  
  
"I am Ranma. Sorry about this," Ranma said dejectedly.  
  
"Yeah right. Tell us another good one," Minako said, snickering.  
  
"Ask her. She must have seen it," Ranma said, pointing at Usagi.  
  
Makoto looked at Usagi while she was about to take the smaller  
girl to task, when she really noticed Usagi's expression. "What?  
She can't be Ranma. Ranma's taller, and has black hair." Usagi  
nodded her head vigorously. "You saw Ranma turn into this girl?"  
Usagi nodded her head again. "That's not possible." Usagi again  
nodded her head.  
  
"I saw it, Mako honey. Ranma really turned into this girl," Usagi  
said, not quite as frightened anymore.  
  
Minako glared daggers at the smaller girl. "How did this happen?"  
  
Ranma sighed and started into his patented reply. "My pop dragged  
me to China, where we both fell into these cursed springs. He fell  
into the pool of the drowned panda. I fell into the pool of the  
drowned girl. Now when I'm splashed with cold water I turn into a  
girl. Hot water turns me back into a guy."  
  
"You really expect me to believe that?" Makoto said with disbelief  
written on her face, in bold typeface.  
  
"It's easy enough to prove. All I need is hot water. Come on, I  
still owe Usagi some ice cream," Ranma said continuing to walk to  
the ice cream parlor. That lost the last of Usagi's worries. She  
followed quickly, Minako and Makoto just a few steps behind.  
  
Akane reached over and took Ranma's hand. She whispered to him,  
"You did all right there. I'm sure they'll accept you when they  
see you switch back." She squeezed Ranma's hand to offer some  
comfort.  
  
Ranma smiled back, trying to put up a brave front. If there was  
any group whose reactions he really cared about, it was these  
girls.  
  
-  
  
Usagi attacked her triple scoop ice cream banana split, with  
chocolate sprinkles on top. Ranma just snickered, remembering the  
many times that Usagi had ordered ice cream at this very place.  
  
The waiter finished giving everyone else her orders. Varied  
confections of ice cream, and one glass of hot water. "Watch  
carefully, Makoto. Nothing up my sleeve!" Ranma said with a touch  
of humor in her voice. She poured the hot water on her head.  
Minako and Makoto watched in fascination as the color deepened  
into black, and Ranma's face shifted subtly.  
  
They both stared for just a moment, and then Makoto snickered.  
"Good thing Ami isn't here. She'd be wanting to take you over to  
the hospital to see what makes you tick," the tall girl said with  
a smile.  
  
Minako thought for just a second, and then smiled. "She would,  
wouldn't she? After she finished fainting. Magic might blow up her  
view of the world for a little while," Minako said.  
  
Akane smiled, and then asked Makoto, "Do you ever get the feeling  
that you've met someone before. Even when you couldn't have?  
  
"Deja vu? Yeah. I had a bad case when I saw you two at lunch  
today," Makoto said, twirling her spoon for just a second.  
  
"Yeah, me too," Minako said. Usagi chimed in that she had felt it  
too. "Wow, that's pretty exciting. I wonder if we shared a past  
life or something?" Minako asked.  
  
"Um, maybe. Have you tried to think back about it?" Akane asked.  
Ranma stared at the girls intently. They seemed to concentrate for  
a few moments.  
  
"Nope, nothing. Dang it. Nothing ever exciting ever happens to  
me," Usagi bemoaned. The other girls agreed.  
  
"Oh, my gosh. Look at the time. I've got to go. I've got to get to  
the park! Mamoru is going to be there any minute!" Usagi exclaimed  
suddenly. Stuffing one last bite into her mouth, she dashed out of  
the store.  
  
Minako and Makoto sighed, both of them with sad and vaguely upset  
frowns mirrored on their faces. "She'll never learn, will she?"  
Makoto finally said.  
  
"Nope, not likely. Even after her father found out about them, and  
forbid her from talking to him. She still goes to the park to meet  
him," Minako sighed.  
  
Ranma and Akane glanced at each other. What was this. "Hey guys!  
Me and Akane have to go apartment hunting yet today. See you  
tomorrow?" Ranma said finally, breaking the silence.  
  
"Sure! See you tomorrow," Minako said. She smiled as she gathered  
her bag, and walked with everyone else out the door.  
  
-  
  
"That didn't work out so well, did it?" Akane finally broke the  
silence, as she and Ranma continued their walk.  
  
"Nope. So now what?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Well, let's see if the place that we picked a couple of days ago  
is still willing to rent to us. After that, we need to head back  
to the dojo. Good thing tomorrow is a short day, so we can try to  
move some of the stuff," Akane said.  
  
"We've gotta figure out what happened to Chizuko too. I think he,  
uh she might be back at Sailor Sun's space station. At least I  
think so," Ranma said. He scratched his head in consternation.  
  
"But only the other sailors can teleport. How are we going get  
there without them?" Akane asked.  
  
"I don't know for sure. Sailor Sun could kinda teleport herself.  
It had to be in sunshine though," Ranma said, sighing a bit.  
  
"Well, shall we try it out? It has got to beat riding the train  
back to Nerima. I sort of wish we didn't have to go back," Akane  
said, tossing her head in frustration. She had a terrible feeling  
about going home.  
  
"Me too. Well, why not? Come on!" Ranma said leaping nimbly to the  
roof.  
  
"The apartment first Ranma! Then we can go running around the  
solar system later," Akane cried out as she followed him.  
  
"Oh, yeah. Sorry," Ranma said, changing direction.  
  
-  
  
"Well, it's not too bad. Just a little small," Ranma said.  
  
Akane agreed, and nodded her head. It was pretty close to some  
take out joints. Perfectly situated, even if she wouldn't admit  
that to Ranma.  
  
Their new home lay in all its glory. One main room, and a kitchen,  
with a very small bathroom. It was on the top floor, about ten  
blocks from Juuban High School. Also, as a bonus to the highly  
trained martial artists, it wasn't that far from Mr. Myagi's dojo.  
  
"Well, shall we go to the roof?" Ranma asked.  
  
Akane nodded her agreement. They stepped out onto the tiny  
balcony, and leaped straight up and flipped onto the roof. They  
both reached into subspace and pulled out their henshin sticks.  
  
One quick transformation later, and Sailor Sun and Io stood ready.  
  
"Do you think you can do it, Ranma?" Sailor Io asked.  
  
"I think so. I can sorta remember. I've just gotta figure out how  
to do it with you," Sailor Sun said, concentrating on her ancient  
memories. She held out her hands for Sailor Io, and held them  
firmly.  
  
"Light Speed Sun Beam Transport!" Sailor Sun cried out. A beam of  
light struck the roof, encompassing them both. Sailor Io's nerves  
screamed, as it seemed she was being torn apart. She struggled for  
just a moment, and then the pain subsided.  
  
A streak of light flew into the void, heading for the Sun. Long  
minutes later they revolved into a beam that struck the ancient  
space station. Both figures appeared, and then staggered in one of  
the windowed rooms.  
  
Sailor Io released Sailor Sun's hands. Sun reached up and rubbed  
her temple. She turned away for just a second, fighting the wave  
of memories. She managed to push them away for just a few moments.  
Staggering deeper into the space station, Sailor Sun headed toward  
the secret passage. Moving the bronze statue of a hawk through its  
pattern, she opened the passageway.  
  
They crept down the stairs again, back into the secret study of  
the first Sailor Sun. The same globes radiated light, and  
illuminated Chizuko trapped in her stasis field again. Sailor Sun  
raised her hand to deactivate the field, and then paused. This  
didn't seem to be quite right. She circled it for just a second,  
and then put her hand on a panel on the desk. Light flashed again,  
re-releasing Chizuko.  
  
Ancient machines whirred to life, swinging specially designed  
lenses toward Sailor Sun. Lights flashed in an intricate pattern,  
striking Sailor Sun's eyes for just a moment.  
  
After the lights finished flashing, Sailor Sun collapsed as if she  
were a marionette with her strings cut.  
  
"Ranma!" Sailor Io cried out, reaching her husband instantly.  
There was no response. Sailor Sun's eyes stared blankly into  
space.  
  
-  
  
Clouds started to swirl in black mass of darkness. Lightning  
flashed, bringing light to the sudden darkness. Soon the clouds  
encompassed all of Tokyo, bringing a sudden night to the  
afternoon. Lightning struck the ground near Tokyo Tower.  
  
A small figure staggered as if it had gone from running, to  
walking suddenly. Rain started spatter on the ground, dampening  
the pink hair of a young, junior high age girl that hadn't been  
there just moments previously. She shook for just a moment, and  
then whipped out an umbrella out of nowhere. With determination,  
she stepped into the night.  
  
-  
  
Usagi huddled in the lee of the tree she was next to, trying to  
stay out of the rain. Her eyes sparkled, giving evidence that she  
was almost crying. She tried to look out into the sudden deluge  
that had struck the city. She searched intently with her eyes into  
the park.  
  
But no, he was already gone. And Usagi needed to be home soon.  
"Oh, Mamoru. Why don't they see that we love each other? It  
doesn't matter that I'm in high school, and that you're in  
college," Usagi said softly, crying into the darkness.  
  
It wasn't fair. It was just so, well, right when they were  
together. Why couldn't daddy let her choose her own love? Usagi  
let loose a sob, and ran into the darkness, heading back to the  
hated lights of her home.  
  
-  
  
Again, a throne of darkness, surrounded by shadows. The figure on  
the throne watched a screen that seemed to have no physical  
substance. It showed a news reporter, in front of a school. The  
lights lit his face in eerie hues.  
  
"So who is this Sailor Io? And how does she figure into this  
tapestry we weave?" he said finally. "Obviously, the time hag  
failed to find and defeat Sailor Pluto. She is more cunning than I  
would have thought. Curse her. With her gone, I can restore the  
future to its proper path, destroying the Crystal Millennium  
before it is even born," the figure raged impotently. With a wave  
of his hand, he banished the screen. He gnashed his teeth, and  
then carefully pulled out a black crystal. He hadn't realized the  
power of the gate of time last time he confronted the Sailor  
Senshi. He wouldn't make that mistake again.  
  
"So be it. I can feel the gates of time opening again. This time I  
must not fail. Come dark powers, reach back in time to the time  
before the kingdom of the moon. Bring to this time a H'rogth, time  
reaper and despoiler," he intoned softly, eyes glowing red.  
Darkness gathered in a pool, lit by a sickly green glow.  
  
A figure started to appear, hunched over and hideous, its six arms  
gathered underneath its carapace. Two powerful legs stretched,  
raising the figure to an incredible height of fifteen feet. All  
eight of its eyes glowed malevolently. "What is your bidding?"  
  
"Bring to me the dead, bleeding body of Sailor Pluto. Let nothing  
stop you," he cried out.  
  
"Of course, master." The monster disappeared suddenly, wasting no  
time.  
  
End File.  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Black Moon - Eclipse of the Sun Part II  
  
Sailor Sun's eyes blinked, unseeing. Images and feelings  
washed over and through her psyche, unleashed by the  
flickering lights. She just couldn't deal with it. It was  
too much too quickly. And so she was just a passenger on  
this ride of life.  
  
"Ranma, please wake up!" Sailor Io urged, shaking the  
smaller girl.  
  
But Ranma, or Sailor Sun, wasn't there. Her mind was  
centuries away, in a far more idyllic time.  
  
-  
  
Gwyn ran home from the village square and into the yard  
where she and her family lived. The chickens clucked and ran  
frantically away from the exuberant ten year old. "Momma,  
poppa! Where are you?" the little red haired girl asked  
loudly.  
  
Her mother answered from inside the house, "In here dear.  
Lunch is almost ready. So hurry up and ring the bell, and  
get your father and brother!"  
  
Gwyn laughed as ran up the short ladder and to the back  
porch. Hanging from the porch was a large bell, made of  
brightly polished brass. She grabbed the clapper rope, and  
swung it vigorously, making a loud ringing sound that could  
be heard for quite a distance. Gwyn shaded her eyes and  
looked over the fields that they owned, looking for her  
father. He was a serious sort, not given to many fancies.  
But he loved working with his hands, and his farming. Almost  
as much as he did his family.  
  
She spotted him walking in from the farthest fields,  
dragging in her older brother, Sean. He was only a year or  
so older than her, but he had been helping doing the harder  
work of the farm for a long time. Son mirrored father, both  
had dark short cropped hair. The sun shown brightly behind  
them, soon to be eclipsed by the Earth as the Sun made its  
way through the majestic sky.  
  
Soon they were both back and everyone was sitting at the  
table. A quick prayer to God, and they commenced eating.  
Sean poked Gwyn in the ribs, and asked, "So what have you  
been doing today, squirt?"  
  
Gwyn glared back at him, and replied, "I've been helping  
mother. She had me go and see if those new crystals from  
Jupiter where in today." She switched her seating to look at  
her mother. "They should be here tomorrow, Momma. The  
traders were held up on the trail by bandits. But they beat  
them off I heard. They're up at Imbrium Shallows."  
  
"So, only a day or so away, hmm. That means that I won't be  
able to finish the Solaris Tempus before the mid-spring  
rites. Ah well, we'll have to wait. It's only three more  
months more any ways. It is too bad that the council is too  
'traditional' to wait a day or so," Lyorna muttered to  
herself.  
  
"Now, now dear. This is much better than the highlands where  
you were born. At least they let you continue your studies  
without burning you for a witch," their father said gently.  
  
"There's nothing unnatural with geomancy, Geoff. And  
besides, I followed the older teachings. But I understand.  
When the Court of Earth took you and I in, and offered us a  
safe haven where we wouldn't persecuted, it was one of the  
happiest days of my life," Lyorna replied.  
  
"Even if they won't let you do very much with it?" Geoff  
teased, in a rare moment of mirth.  
  
"You know that the geomancy of the moon is the purview of  
the Royalty. It has required some creative thinking on my  
part to continue my research out here on the frontier of the  
Moon," she replied with a grin. "And Gwyn is becoming quite  
adept at helping me. She's quite the little scholar and  
might even do better than me at the studies."  
  
"Momma! You're going to embarrass me!" Gwyn said blushing.  
  
"If Gwyn doesn't get in any more fights that is," Sean piped  
up.  
  
"W-what are you talking about?" Gwyn replied, her voice  
cracking suddenly.  
  
"Ha! I bet you got in another fight today, didn't you?" Sean  
crowed loudly. He had thought he saw a bruise on her arm.  
  
"Gwyn! You didn't did you?" Lyorna said, looking at her  
youngest.  
  
"No! Well, they started it! I just was defending you mother.  
Marco and Dueven where talking dirt about you again, and  
saying that you shouldn't be wasting so much money," Gwyn  
replied hotly.  
  
"Angwyn, you shouldn't be picking fights with those boys. Or  
is there more to this story than what you've said, young  
lady?" Her mother's stern glare permitted no argument.  
  
"I, uh, they started to make fun of me, saying I was more of  
a boy than a girl." Gwyn was blushing quite a bit by know.  
  
"Oh, Gwyn. You'll be as pretty as the Senshi you know.  
Prettier maybe. You just ignore those boys. Pretty soon  
they'll be asking you to go with them to the dances," Lyorna  
sighed at her daughter's antics. This wasn't the first time.  
Or most likely the last time.  
  
"Oh, momma, you know I'm never going to be that pretty. I'm  
too tall, and I've got big feet."  
  
"Enough of that, daughter. You still have your farm chores  
to do this afternoon. After that you can help me prepare for  
the festival by cooking with me." Lyorna glared at Angwyn.  
  
"That is correct. No daughter of mine is going to miss out  
on the festival because she has a bad attitude," Geoff said  
suddenly.  
  
Gwyn quailed. When her father joined her mother, the  
conversation was over. And when he threatened, you did as  
you were told, or he would follow through. She knew that he  
loved her dearly, but it was a stern sort of love.  
  
-  
  
The next morning, the Weavers came into town carrying their  
portion of the feast. The main square was decorated gaily,  
with streamers and banners. The statue of Queen Serenity was  
polished so that it shone. It wasn't very big (barely larger  
than life), but it was raised high on it pedestal. The  
crystals that were part of the pedestal sparkled brightly.  
As well they should, for they were lifeblood of a small  
village out on edge of the airless Moon Kingdom.  
  
Each major holiday, they held a life feast ceremony. Lyorna  
always said it was the hardest partying that she had ever  
seen. For a full day, the crystals that kept the air in, and  
the cold of nothingness out were bathed in the life force  
energy of the entire town, and the surrounding farms people.  
Not only did they provide air, but also weather, and water.  
  
It was quite tiring, so nobody did much except talk and eat,  
and play games that didn't require much movement. Cards and  
dice were quite popular, but other games existed too.  
Children who weren't old enough were not allowed to join in.  
It was feared that it might stunt their growth. Sean still  
wasn't quite old enough, but in a few years he would be able  
to join in.  
  
The parent sent their children to the edge of the square and  
then started making rings around the statue. Slowly,  
solemnly the parents started chanting the words of power  
that would infuse the statue with the power it needed. Young  
children scampered gleefully, playing games of catch and  
tag. The slightly older ones talked and played more adult  
games. The boy's most popular sport was, of course,  
wrestling.  
  
Gwyn sat to one side, ignoring the girls that talked of  
nothings, and planned for when they were finally old enough  
to be considered adults. She'd heard it often enough, and  
really didn't feel like being made fun of for being nearly  
as tall as a boy, and not very girlish. So she didn't like  
to play with dolls, was that a crime?  
  
She wandered out of the village square, and started to kick  
a pebble down the street. In front of the Mayor's house, she  
decided to be daring and climb the one tree that none of the  
other children dared to. It was a beautiful apple tree that  
the whipcord thin mayor guarded from being hurt. And he used  
his switch on anyone caught climbing it. With practiced  
grace, she was soon in the top branches. "Ha, that'll show  
Sean. I'll even get away clean," Gwyn said gleefully to  
herself.  
  
She shaded her hands, looking to the road to the south. She  
thought that she could see some wagons over the houses. Gwyn  
smiled in anticipation. Her mother's last crystals were on  
that wagon. She had been working for so long on her ideas,  
and she almost had tangible proof. That would show the mayor  
and those stuffy town council.  
  
Her attention was drawn abruptly to a rooftop only a dozen  
feet away. And the two cloaked up figures standing just  
behind the roofs edge, behind a large chimney. They hadn't  
been there a moment before.  
  
"They look like they are suitably distracted, your Majesty.  
Shall I begin?" a male voice said.  
  
"Yes. This cloying ritual to Serenity grates on my ears.  
Begin the attack. Bring me those crystals, so that I have  
the power that I need," the regal but high-pitched female  
answered.  
  
He didn't answer, but raised his hands and muttering quickly  
under his breath, released streams of energy that  
disappeared from view. Gwyn heard cries of surprise that  
turned to fear. And then the screaming started. Horrible  
screaming.  
  
The two figures moved to a different roof, further away.  
Angwyn shuddered, and shimmied down the tree, scraping her  
knee. She took a few small steps toward the town square,  
when she managed to get a glimpse of the devastation being  
wreaked upon the hapless towns people. Her face paled as she  
saw everyone collapsing, looking drained and tired. A large  
fiendish looking creature cackled horribly over the bodies.  
She took off running, sobbing as she ran for her life.  
  
The Earth eclipsed the Sun, putting the entire town into  
shadow. Soon all was dark. Torches and lamps lay unlit,  
their owner's laying just a few feet away, uncaring anymore  
about such small things as light and darkness.  
  
-  
  
The village lay quiet and dormant. In the village square,  
dark shapes lay on the ground. Eyes stared blankly into the  
air and the stars that were starting to shine. A light  
suddenly appeared, spreading to cover the area. When it  
faded, the only illumination was the Earth, hanging in the  
sky to the south.  
  
"It's worse than I thought," the golden haired women in the  
white gown said, shifting her gaze across the fallen people.  
She gripped her staff tightly, wishing she had some sort of  
target to vent her anger on. Several of her soldiers spread  
out to secure the area for the Queen and her bodyguards.  
  
"Caravans, and small farms before. Now an entire village.  
But still not often. They only attack maybe once a year.  
We'll be spreading ourselves very thin to try and stop these  
random attacks, your majesty," another figure with whitish  
hair said, adjusting her dress, and looking very carefully  
for any signs of an ambush. It would eventually come to that  
of course. It was all directed at the queen.  
  
"I know Venus. But we must do what we can. No survivors?"  
Queen Serenity asked her lead body guard. She gazed down at  
the broken statue, shuddering slightly.  
  
Venus glanced at her friend and fellow Senshi, Jupiter.  
Jupiter started to chant slowly, and the wind picked up. For  
a few tense minutes, nothing happened. Jupiter opened her  
mouth to respond directly to Queen Serenity, when a last  
gust blew in. Her gaze jerked as if shot. "A survivor?  
Finally someone who might know who did this. Follow me your  
majesty." And with that she led the queen and her bodyguards  
quickly down the road.  
  
At the order of the Queen, the soldiers stayed. They would  
start to deal with the bodies.  
  
They quickly left the village proper. Mercury glanced around  
nervously. "Are you sure, Jupiter? The air here is already  
thin and leaking out into the void." Her nervous movements  
swished her long black hair around. Mercury was always a  
nervous and fussy individual.  
  
Jupiter nodded, frowning slightly. "I'm fairly positive. But  
we ARE having to use magic to sustain ourselves," she said,  
looking around carefully. Air spirits were fairly simple.  
They could be tricked easily enough.  
  
"Just keep your eyes open," Mars said, flicking her short  
brown hair behind her back.  
  
Soon they came to a small farm. It had a small barn off to  
the side, and a strange tower like building attached to the  
house. The air was almost nonexistent by this time. They  
fanned out, looking for the survivor. Chickens lay on the  
ground, as did a horse near the barn. Mars headed into the  
house, while Jupiter and Venus went into the barn. Mercury  
stayed near Serenity, keeping a watchful eye out for  
ambushes.  
  
Mars waved to them, drawing Serenity and Mercury. They  
entered the house quietly. Mars pointed towards the back of  
the small cottage. They saw movement from behind the bed. A  
flash of red, quickly hidden.  
  
"It's a young girl." Mars gestured at the hidden figure. She  
tried to lure her out to no avail with soothing gestures and  
cooing sounds.  
  
Slowly a small tear stained face framed in red hair showed  
itself. Very carefully, she backed away clutching at  
something. Gwyn looked around frantically for an escape,  
until she saw the pretty lady in white.  
  
"The Queen!" Gwyn said in relief, just before fainting. She  
collapsed limply.  
  
Mars caught her, and carefully lowered her to the ground.  
  
-  
  
Gwyn woke up to the sight of Queen Serenity sitting regally  
on one of the kitchen table chars. "Good, you're awake  
finally. What are you called dear?"  
  
"I'm Gwyn, um, Angwyn Weaver." Gwyn just stared at the Queen  
and then the other Senshi. She would never be that pretty.  
She clutched the small box to her chest.  
  
"Gwyn, did you see who did this?" Queen Serenity asked  
intently.  
  
"Not really. They were wearing cloaks. One sounded like a  
man, the other was a women though," Gwyn replied. Her eyes  
were puffy and red, anger radiating from her quite clearly.  
  
"Did they say any names? Or something about where they are  
from?"  
  
"No. Wait, the man called the women 'her majesty'," Gwyn  
said excitedly. Her face became an angry mask. "Are you  
going to find them and punish them?" Her eyes burned coldly.  
  
Shock covered their faces. A person of royalty? The rumors  
that the Court of Earth was behind these attacks no longer  
looked quite so insane.  
  
Queen Serenity looked sternly at the young girl. "Yes, we  
will. But that is not the concern of young girls. Do you  
have any family child?"  
  
Anguish covered the young girls face. "No, they're all gone.  
Everyone was at the festival. And because I wasn't with  
them, they're all dead. And it's all my fault."  
  
Queen Serenity gathered the small child to her, and held her  
tight. "No, dear little one. It wasn't your fault. It was  
the bad man's fault. And he'll be brought to justice, never  
you fear." She rocked the small girl for a short while. "You  
are under my protection now, so he can't hurt you."  
  
"How did the girl survive, you Majesty? The air is all  
gone!" Venus said quietly. But not quietly enough to escape  
the hearing of Gwyn.  
  
Gwyn pulled back from Queen Serenity, and glared at the  
silver haired Senshi. "I used my mothers crystal to weave an  
air ward," Gwyn said angrily.  
  
"You did? And where did a little girl like you get a crystal  
that could focus energy like that?" Venus replied, staring  
coolly at the crying little girl.  
  
"It was one of the last crystals that Momma was needing to  
finish her Solaris Tempus. And it's mine now!" the little  
girl declared, holding the box with the precious crystals  
close.  
  
"Of course, Gwyn. Could you show us this . . . . Solaris  
Tempus?" Queen Serenity asked quietly.  
  
"You want to see it? Really? Momma said that you would  
someday." And with that, Gwyn trotted over to the other door  
of the cottage, and opened it, and led them in to the tower.  
The tower was filled with ropes and canvas. In the dark  
gloom you couldn't see much.  
  
Gwyn walked up to one of the walls, and touched a small  
wire, and focused for just a second. At her touch, small  
crystal imbedded in the wall started to glow. Mars stared in  
awe at all of the crystals. "There's a small fortune here!"  
  
"No, These are just the culls. Some are burning out all of  
the time," Gwyn said loudly behind some of the canvass.  
  
Jupiter looked closely at one of the flickering crystals.  
"She's right. These are flawed crystals, hardly worth a  
copper penny. I wouldn't have thought that you could get  
light from them, much less this amount of light." Could it  
be the pattern that they were glued to the wall? Or was it  
the inlay of wire?  
  
Gwyn came back around the canvass, and started writing on  
the slate board by the door. "All done!" Gwyn then walked  
over to some ropes tied to the wall. She struggled for a  
moment, and then finally released them, pulling the canvass  
roof back.  
  
Gwyn looked back to the slate board. "But where to send it?  
It was supposed to go to the statue in the main square."  
  
"Why were you going to send this at the statue, child?"  
Jupiter asked quietly.  
  
"It's supposed to charge the crystals there so that we  
didn't have to do the ceremonies any more. No more getting  
tired on festival days!" Gwyn said proudly.  
  
Jupiter blinked once. She could do that personally, as could  
the other Senshi and the Queen of course. But a device?  
"Send it there anyways. We'll be able to see what happens."  
  
Gwyn shrugged, and then carefully started the pulleys and  
levers that would raise the Solaris Tempus into position. It  
telescoped up on what looked to be a mast, rising high above  
the tower. More ropes pulled the petals into position. Soon  
all five were pulled back, reveling a sparkling array of  
crystals sewn to the inside surface of the 'flower'  
arrangement.  
  
Gwyn carefully adjusted the angle, checking it carefully  
against some notes on the slate. Then she sat down and took  
an apple out of her pocket and started to eat it.  
  
"That's it?" Mercury asked. "More imperfect crystals?" She  
stared at the little girl.  
  
Jupiter stared upwards, trying to fathom the purpose of the  
arrangement. She squinted, looking as closely as she could.  
"I don't think those crystals are imperfect." She strained  
her senses, and suddenly gasped. That couldn't be right.  
Where was the power coming from?  
  
Before she could say anything, lights flickered into  
existence. First one, and then another. Lines of force grew  
between different crystals, and then outward. Soon a perfect  
sphere was formed, held carefully by the flower. Lines of  
light covered the sphere, reminding the mystically bent  
Jupiter of the Geomancy lines Earth.  
  
The sphere suddenly loosed a light towards the village  
square. Far off in the village square, the soldiers were  
startled, and drew their weapons as a beam of light struck  
the fallen statue of Queen Serenity. The air sparkled, and  
where the crystals would have been, lights flickered into  
existence. Between those lights a convoluted pattern grew.  
  
Back at the farm, Gwyn laughed and then ran outside,  
followed more sedately by the Queen and her Senshi. A  
shocking sight arose before them. A blue hemisphere was  
growing over the village, pushing back the night of the  
void. Soon the hemisphere encompassed them, bringing with it  
a soft breeze.  
  
"That was amazing!" Mars spoke, looking over the replenished  
land.  
  
"Jupiter, exactly what did happen?" Queen Serenity asked.  
  
"Gwyn's mother harnessed the sun to provide the life  
necessary to create the air envelope. I guess that you could  
make it self-sustaining, eventually. It looked expensive  
though. There are hundreds of crystals there. A small  
fortune, missed by our enemy," Jupiter said slowly. No one  
had ever harnessed the Sun in such a way before.  
  
The Solaris Tempus sparked suddenly, catching fire. In  
moments it was consumed. But still the crystals floated  
there, gaining power from the Sun. Jupiter realized the only  
way to break the crystals loose would be when the sun went  
down, and released them from its fiery embrace.  
  
"I think I must declare this a royal secret. If this were to  
fall into enemy hands, it could be quite devastating." The  
young queen stared at the glowing sphere, trying to gauge  
what changes it brought.  
  
"And the girl?" Venus asked suddenly.  
  
"She is under our protection and a ward of the state.  
Besides, I think she is the only one who knows how to use  
and make this silly contraption," Queen Serenity said,  
smiling at the young girl who was watching them. "Come  
along, Angwyn Weaver."  
  
-  
  
Sailors Sun's eyes flicked back and forth, following the  
lights that only she saw.  
  
"Chizuko, what can we do?" Sailor Io asked the coppery bird  
of prey.  
  
"I don't know. How did I get back in the stasis, and what  
did the mistress do?" Chizuko asked, hopping from one foot  
to another. She preened her feathers.  
  
"She remembered another way to free you, and then was struck  
by these lights and collapsed," Sailor Io said, cradling the  
red head in her lap.  
  
"Lights? Perhaps she turned on the information recorder!  
That uses subliminal lights and messages to give her  
complicated mathematics information. She was able to train  
herself to remember vast amounts of information that way  
very quickly," Chizuko said, twisting her head to look at  
the device in question.  
  
"But why doesn't she wake up?" Sailor Io asked.  
  
"I do not know. Usually she came out of the trances very  
quickly."  
  
Sailor Sun continued to dream, hearing voices that beckoned  
her to return. But the past wouldn't let her go now that it  
had its claws in her.  
  
-  
  
Angwyn missed her friends. But they had lives that they  
needed to deal with. Senshi Jupiter, or Browein to her  
friends, hadn't been able to visit since the birth of her  
first daughter and heir. Angwyn didn't begrudge her that,  
but did miss one of the few people that treated her as a  
friend.  
  
And even though she had an open invite to visit the castle,  
Gwyn just didn't feel comfortable in the presence of so much  
nobility. So she worked at her own tower a small distance  
away from the palace.  
  
The Solaris Tempus did work, but was far too expensive to  
put in every small village. So Gwyn continued to improve her  
mother's work. She had never forgotten the screams that  
heralded the death of her family. Unbeknownst to anyone, she  
had embarked on a plan of bloody revenge. But for that plan  
to work, she would have to have more power. Power enough to  
take on a skilled and foul mage who summoned fiends to do  
his bidding. A powerful sorcerer indeed. She would use the  
power that her mother had started to tap into, to be HER  
revenge.  
  
Gwyn had grown to be a good-looking girl of seventeen (but  
never as pretty as the Senshi in her mind!) She wore a gown  
that in some way mirrored the gowns of the Senshi, but not  
so close to break any laws. It was a tribute to the friends  
that had saved her life seven years ago.  
  
Her hands glided along the smooth wood of her latest  
creation. Gwyn had decided a long time ago that she just  
couldn't do her best work in the shadows of any planets. So  
she had set about creating a breathtaking ship, made of  
lustrous wood, and white sails. Built not to sail the waters  
of Earth, but the sky. Carefully woven into the sails were  
the same crystals from the original Solaris Tempus. In honor  
of her mother, she had named the new ship, the Solaris. When  
the Sun rose, she would be able to rise into the air, and  
continue her experiments.  
  
"Milady? Are you in there, Milady Angwyn?" a bass toned  
voice rang out.  
  
Gwyn started, and quickly recovered the ship. "Yes I am! Who  
is it?"  
  
"It is Leory, sent by the Queen to invite you to court to  
witness the first public appearance of her daughter. She's  
saved you a special place," Leory replied jocularly.  
  
"Her Majesty is too kind. I don't deserve such an exalted  
place," Gwyn said as she entered the cottage from her tower.  
  
"She gave me strict instructions to see that you are  
escorted to the palace promptly."  
  
"Very well, let me clean up, and I'll be with you shortly."  
Gwyn fumed for a minute, and was tempted to just leave, but  
the queen wouldn't stand for that. Her mother's work was  
still a state secret. Only Angwyn, Browein, and the  
mysterious Sailor Pluto had any records of it. And the only  
reason she was let free to experiment was because she was  
loyal to the queen.  
  
Soon they were walking quickly towards the palace that  
gleamed in the Earthlight.  
  
-  
  
Gwyn fretted quietly in a corner of the main hall. This was  
terribly tedious. Almost all of the nobility had turned out  
to pay respect for the newborn princess. Even many from the  
hidden Court of Earth. She pondered that concept. Of course  
she knew of the hidden magical kingdoms, and the  
interrelated nobility that was known as the Court of Earth.  
She even knew of the part that was of the mundane nobility  
of Earth. It was said that their royalty was descended from  
lost Atlantis.  
  
Living as near the palace as she did, she of course knew  
almost all of their royalty. The King Endil and Queen  
Layenne, with their eldest boy in tow. What was his name?  
Endymion, yes that was it. He was sturdy lad of six or so,  
and looked quite precious as he tried to look as stern as  
his father.  
  
The Queen swept into the room, carrying a small toddler.  
"Greeting and salutations, people of magic. I bid to you a  
good eve, and good omens. Welcome to our court my beautiful  
daughter, who I have named Serenity, as is the custom of my  
kingdom."  
  
With that the Queen raised her young girl up so that as many  
could see it would. "WELL MET, YOUNG PRINCESS!" thunderous  
voices rang out from all, even Gwyn to her own surprise.  
Cheering followed.  
  
"Let the feasting begin!"  
  
Gwyn couldn't be certain, but she was struck profoundly by  
the little princess. What sort of premonition could be  
wrapped around such a small and feeble child? And what would  
it have to do with a peasant such as herself?  
  
-  
  
Gwyn was wandering during the party, away into the darkened  
halls of the palace. She heard voices from around the  
corner, as she sought out a breath of fresh air.  
  
"I don't think it would be wise you majesty. To flat out  
refuse the match would be considered a grievous insult," the  
ancient Venus said.  
  
"I will not betroth my only child to the Court of Earth. Not  
after what they have done, attacking and pillaging as they  
want, to take the life and souls of my people for their  
evil. I will not have it," Queen Serenity said hotly.  
  
"But Serenity! Prince Endymion had a foretelling of him and  
little Serenity. And he wasn't the only one. I too saw them  
together. It is their destiny," replied the matriarch of  
Venus.  
  
"And I am to let my daughter to be swayed to evil? I will  
fight them to the last of my breath, and the last breath of  
my soldiers," Serenity responded.  
  
"You know that not all of the Court of Earth is against us!"  
Venus said.  
  
"So I am to ignore their attacks on me and my family?"  
Serenity said, turning from her trusted advisor. "They  
killed my husband. They've threatened all of us, and wish to  
destroy us for those creatures of the darkness that they  
serve."  
  
"No, but I thought you were better than that, to judge them  
all on the actions of a few rebels."  
  
"That is far enough, Sleone. You may be my trusted advisor,  
but even you may not speak to me in such a tone." A deep  
breath of air is taken in. "You will leave my court, only to  
return when you have pondered your errors."  
  
A pause in the conversation stretched out for a painfully  
long time. "As you wish, your majesty." Venus bowed deeply,  
and then departed. She was gone before she could hear the  
soft sobbing of the Queen.  
  
Gwyn turned quietly to leave, troubled and shaken. So that  
was why was the Queen so against the match. Angwyn had to  
agree with Sleone, it was their destiny. Even Gwyn had felt  
it. And destiny was not something to be trifled with. Even  
if you had good reasons.  
  
But that still didn't get rid of the terrible feeling of  
danger or impending dooms that she felt. It contrasted so  
terribly with the sense of joy and peace that she also felt.  
  
Gwyn stopped and paused for a second. Could the queen also  
feel this conflicting fate? That could also explain her  
behavior.  
  
-  
  
Sailor Sun's eyes twitched for just a second. She could see  
Sailor Io's worried face again, hovering over her. Chizuko  
waddled into view. Ranma could hear the worried voices, but  
it was like from a great distance, or from under water. Or  
both? Coppery light sparkled off the bird, sending the  
bedazzled mind down another path of memory. A pained whimper  
managed to escape the girl's throat before she was sucked  
back into the past.  
  
-  
  
Angwyn sat up, blinking to relieve the dryness of her eyes.  
She focussed a minute, recalling the masses of mathematical  
formulae that she had just finished memorizing. All there,  
and ready for use. She sat up from the couch, and looked  
around. She walked over to her slate, and with a cloth,  
started to erase the formula that was written there. The new  
secrets that she was unveiling would be hers alone. With  
them locked in her mind, there were no books to be stolen,  
and no secrets that could be used against her or her  
precious queen.  
  
Gwyn's fingers traced a scar on her neck, from where an  
assassin had tried to kill her. It had been months since  
then, but still she ached to find the cloaked man who had  
tried to kill her and take her secrets. She shook her head,  
and walked into the back room of her tower, and tied on a  
leather apron over her tunic and pants. A few minutes at the  
bellows, and she had the forge up to full intensity. She  
carefully put in more fuel for the fire, and then proceeded  
to her work.  
  
Sparks flew from her hammer, spraying across the anvil.  
Muttered phrases, almost under her breath continued to flow  
from her. Sunlight carefully focussed on the anvil glinted  
merrily. She worked ceaselessly for hours, until her voice  
was horse, and she could barely raise her arms to beat the  
blade into shape.  
  
Carefully she turned the blade over, and with a quick  
movement, plunged it into a vat of chilled water. She pulled  
it out after a few minutes, and then laid it back on the  
anvil. She brought out a special rock, and started to polish  
and sharpen it in careful strokes.  
  
-  
  
Gwyn awoke with a start, looking around the forge. The light  
had failed, and her back hurt. She tried to think back to  
when she had fallen asleep. She couldn't remember. A cold  
weight pressed against her leg, reminding her of her labors.  
Carefully she raised herself up, holding her new sword. It  
had every last bit her secrets, forged from a meteorite that  
had been bathed in sunlight for ages, forged on her forge  
and imbued with the Sun's power.  
  
She took a few minutes to attach the hilt and cross guard to  
the sword, and then walked away from her forge. After  
bathing and changing into a more inconspicuous clothing (a  
nice, nondescript dress), she walked aboard the Solaris. The  
ship had performed admirably three years ago, and she had  
used it to good effect. And now she would use it on the  
first leg of her path of retribution.  
  
With practiced movements, she was soon airborne, and  
floating over the palace. Her little ship raised higher into  
the air, soon passing the ships of the line that defended  
the Moon Kingdom from attack. One of them broke away for a  
minute to follow her, but turned back quickly, satisfied  
that she was no threat.  
  
Sails unfurled from the front of the ship, in a petal like  
arrangement. Soon the sails picked up the solar winds,  
pushing her faster and faster. All the while that same wind  
was also absorbed into the crystals on those sails,  
protecting her from the airless void, and saving the power  
till later. When it would again be needed to rise again into  
the sky.  
  
-  
  
A cloaked woman walked quickly through the darkened streets,  
lit only by the occasional lantern in front of inns and  
other public places. The figure paused, looking at the sign.  
Quickly she pushed her way in, blinking back the biting  
smoke. Glancing quickly around, she spotted the man she had  
come so far to see.  
  
She walked over the fat man sitting in the darkest corner.  
"Louie. You have the information that I requested?" Angwyn  
asked flatly in French. Her voice carried an unmistakably  
foreign accent, but no one here would be able to place it.  
Their were not many who traveled from the Moon to Earth  
these days.  
  
"Yes, mysterious lady, I do. Though asking about such dark  
people is not cheap work," Louie responded likewise. "I  
found this necromancer that you were searching for. Would  
you believe that he is in the service to the new king? And  
here I thought King Hugh was a brighter man than his  
predecessor," the Frenchman replied, trying to see as much  
as he could of the foreigner.  
  
"Do you know where he is right now?" Angwyn asked, pulling  
the cloak around her just a bit more. She felt distinctly  
uncomfortable under this man's eyes.  
  
"Not so quickly, girl. There is a matter of payment first,"  
Louie said, brushing his black hair back. He had usually  
been in a better position by this part of the negotiation.  
  
A small bag flew into his hastily raised hands. "Twenty five  
coins, pure gold, just as you asked."  
  
"If you do not mind, my little flower, I'll check it just to  
be sure," Louie replied. He quickly checked the bag, and  
what was in it. Gold coins, just as promised. He frowned  
slightly upon noticing the female face on one side of the  
coin, the other pock marked in an odd pattern. That was an  
odd thing. Only kings put their print on coins.  
  
"It is satisfactory?" Angwyn asked.  
  
"Oh, yes. Yes!" he replied. He rose to his feet, and  
beckoned her to follow. Soon they were back on the streets  
of Paris. They walked for a while, avoiding the thugs and  
scoundrels that preyed on the weak. Soon they came to a nice  
manor, with a high wall.  
  
"Here we are, madam. The residence of Reginald Lafayette,  
Qadvisor' to the king. Though more likely, he is the king's  
court wizard. I have heard that he stargazes on the  
evenings, in his private garden on the other side of this  
very wall," Louie said, bobbing a little bit. He was about  
to turn around and leave.  
  
"Not so quick, Louie. You are going to come with me until I  
am satisfied that he is the one I want, and not one second  
less." She gestured at the wall, indicating that he should  
climb.  
  
Louie stared at her for one second in disguised hatred, and  
then scrambled over the wall. He was quickly followed by  
Angwyn. They both crouched low behind bushes, and scampered  
closer to the villa. There sitting in the middle of the  
garden sat a blonde haired man with finely chiseled  
features, marred only by his hooked nose.  
  
Reginald looked out across his garden, and then spoke. "You  
can come out, assassin of the Moon Court. I swear to you  
that if you do not struggle, I will not extend you pain,  
much." He stood casually, facing the direction of his  
attackers.  
  
A cold pit formed in Angwyn's stomach, and then a fire  
rekindled itself in her heart. She remembered that voice.  
The man who summoned the fiends that slew her family. A red  
haze clouded her mind, and she strode out to meet him. Her  
new sword appeared in her hand, as her other hand removed  
her cloak. "Reginald Lafayette, for murdering my family, you  
shall not see another morning's dawn," Angwyn snarled.  
  
Reginald watched as the young women walked out of the  
darkened recesses, sword in hand. For just a second he  
thought her one of the Senshi that used a sword, and then  
realized she was none of them that he knew. He would  
recognize someone with that shade of red hair. He scowled,  
and then snapped his fingers. He had been so sure that this  
was one of Serenity's puppets. "Capture her, so that I may  
interrogate her. Thank you Louie. Your payment awaits you at  
your home."  
  
Black mist swirled around three statues, leaving them  
stained and blotchy. Red eyes glowed as the three ancient  
carvings of warriors came to life, striding the ground with  
a loud drumming. Angwyn snarled, and raised her sword.  
"Searing Plasma Blast!" she cried out, sending a wave of  
heat and light to strike the first one from the sword.  
  
It shook, and stumbled, but regained its feet in a moment.  
The only damage showing was a gouge in its chest. The  
nearest one swung clumsily at Angwyn, who sidestepped it  
with a surge of adrenaline and fear. The sword came back in  
an inspired sweep, striking deeply into golem's chest. Its  
eyes flared for one second, and then went blank as the stone  
crumbled to dust.  
  
The third one didn't pause, striking without mercy or  
hesitation at her head. Angwyn couldn't block it with her  
sword, and wasn't quick enough to duck the incoming blow.  
Her free arm came up just in time to save her from being  
knocked unconscious, but at the cost of the sickening snap  
of her arm.  
  
Angwyn screamed in agony, and struck clumsily with an  
overhand strike. The creature raised its hand to ward the  
blow. The sword struck and screamed in a torrent of energy.  
Moments later the third golem exploded into fragments,  
several of which struck her, bruising and cutting her.  
  
The first one stumbled back to its feet. It strode towards  
her, eyes gleaming impassively. Angwyn panicked, and struck  
out with almost all of her remaining strength, blasting the  
last into fragments. She stood for a moment, gasping for her  
breath. She hissed in pain.  
  
Reginald clapped briskly. "Bravo and salutations. I thought  
I knew everyone who posed a threat to me and mine.  
Unfortunately, I can't let you kill me, for I have far too  
much to do, and so little time to do it in. And a girl like  
you really should be back at her home, raising children. Not  
interfering with her betters."  
  
Angwyn quailed and almost collapsed, tears rising in her  
eyes. Until she heard his last comment. A crimson rage  
filled her, a rage that filled her to overflowing. "I'll  
never stop until you are dead, Lafayette. I would rather die  
than fail." With her one good arm, she raised her sword  
high, releasing a torrent of energy at the startled mage.  
  
He hastily raised a shield, stopping the attack. He grunted  
in unexpected effort. Gods and demons, she was strong. She  
could give the Senshi of Silence a run for her money with an  
attack like that.  
  
He strengthened his shield as best a possible, but it was  
quickly becoming undone.  
  
A blinding flash ended her attack on the vile necromancer.  
Angwyn stared at him for a second, shocked that he was still  
standing. The sword lay quiet in her hand, drained of all  
the energy it had absorbed. The mage stood up straight, and  
Angwyn reached a galling decision. She turned and ran. She  
couldn't fail, she had to destroy him. If that required that  
she flee to fight another day, then so be it.  
  
Reginald listened carefully, trying to find his attacker by  
sound. Damn spots! But if she thought that blinding him  
would stop him from defending himself, she was sorely  
mistaken. He heard a noise, and launched his own attack,  
missing her by scant feet.  
  
Angwyn ran in terror now. She was powerless, and if caught  
her she would fail her mother and father. She dodged to the  
side at the last second, and made it to the gate she had  
spotted earlier. With a creak, she was out on the streets,  
running fast.  
  
"There she is. She's a witch I tell you! I saw her throw  
fire, and summoned demons to fight for her," a familiar  
voice cried out. Louie pointed her out to the guard, and  
then moved to the side.  
  
"Halt in the name of the king!" the lead guard yelled,  
hefting his pike.  
  
"Damnation," Angwyn cried out, spun and ran for the edge of  
the city.  
  
The guards chased after her. She skidded around a corner,  
and yelped as a dagger buried itself in the wall to the side  
of her. She started to murmur an enchantment to summon her  
ship to her, and started to climb up the city wall. The  
guards where but a moment behind her.  
  
"We have her now! She can not escape!" one of the guards  
yelled.  
  
"Beware on the wall! We have a witch who is trying to  
escape! Stop her, or I'll have your ears, damn you!" the  
leader of the guard cried out.  
  
Confused shouts responded, and the clanking of arms. Angwyn  
skidded to a halt, aggravating her wounded arm, and almost  
causing herself to pass out from the pain. With an obvious  
effort, she charged down the other way, towards one of the  
towers. She burst into the empty tower, and climbed the  
ladder that led to the roof.  
  
Cries from below her told her she had but moments to act.  
Her ship was floating closer, at an agonizing pace. Judging  
as best she could, she stepped away from the wall, and then  
ran and leaped. For just a second, she almost panicked.  
  
And then her foot caught on the railing of her small ship.  
With a tumble, she passed out on the deck of the ship.  
Having finished being summoned, it ceased its forward  
motion, and became one with the breeze blowing it away from  
the wall.  
  
The guards yelled, and fired what arrows they could, but  
they fell harmlessly or short.  
  
Angwyn awoke to the sun on her face, and a whimper of pain.  
Tears welled up from within her. She had failed. Worse, she  
had failed and the enemy now knew they were hunted. Next  
time they would be better prepared, and they would know how  
to handle her.  
  
She started weeping bitter tears. Ten years of planning and  
gaining power, all for nothing. She hadn't even hurt the  
bastard. He was probably following her right now, to find  
out who was with her. All of that power, and she had failed.  
She didn't know how to become more powerful. The most  
powerful beings she knew were the queen, and perhaps Saturn.  
  
But how was she supposed to gain that much power? They had  
the backing of entire planets, and the Queen had the Silver  
Crystal, one of the greater artifacts of existence. And  
there weren't any more unclaimed planets.  
  
Angwyn turned over and nearly blinded herself, staring up at  
the Sun. Her tears stopped, and a calculating look crept to  
her face. Should she? Could she? You didn't need a planet  
per se, just a large celestial body. If she could tap into  
that power like the Senshi did their planets, she would have  
more than enough power to face him again.  
  
Maybe even become, in some way, just like those pretty  
protectors who had rescued her so long ago. Angwyn clutched  
at the idea desperately, like a lifeline. Maybe, just maybe  
she still had hope. She dragged herself back up to the  
rudder, and started to turn the little ship around. Soon she  
had the little ship headed home.  
  
-  
  
Reginald Lafayette was not a happy man. He lay in his bed  
waiting for the answer from his physician. Sunlight streamed  
in from outside, though he didn't know it. Those damned  
spots still floated in front of his eyes.  
  
"Lord Lafayette, I'm afraid I don't have good news. You  
might recover your sight sometime, but when is not a  
certainty. If you could just tell me what caused this  
ailment, I could help you better. I have many poultices for  
poisons, and other cures for other types of blindness," the  
physician said. He had been sent down here from the King  
Hugh, to find out who dared do this to his advisor. There  
were many who plotted against the new king, and all of those  
plots must be found out, and peace brought to the realm.  
  
"For the last time, I'm not certain how that witch did it.  
It was from a sword that glowed like the Sun," Reginald  
replied scathingly.  
  
"I have never heard of a sword that does that, my lord. You  
are quite lucky to have survived an encounter with such a  
powerful foe," he replied, starting to pack away his tools.  
  
"Then be gone. And send in that excuse of a guard that  
failed to bring me that witch," Reginald shouted.  
  
"Of course my lord."  
  
Reginald Lafayette heard the door open and the swish of the  
doctor as he closed the door. He jumped in surprise when a  
familiar voice spoke up. "Well, it looks as if you will get  
to prove your boast, Reginald. You always did say that you  
could do the rituals blindfolded. Or should we wait to  
summon her that waits?" a high pitched female voice asked  
suddenly.  
  
"Queen Beryl? What do I owe the honor of this visit?"  
Reginald said, quickly recovering.  
  
"It is only months away, from when we can free her that  
waits. Will you still be able to summon her?" Queen Beryl  
asked, eyes drifting over the mage.  
  
"Of course I will. I won't back out at this time. I've put  
too much effort into this, to back out now. And besides,  
there are other ways of seeing. I will not be blinded for  
long," Reginald said with a sneer.  
  
"Of course. Till later then," Queen Beryl said, turning and  
disappearing into the shadows. A contented smile lay on her  
face. It was time to replace her court mage. The power would  
be hers, and hers alone. Reginald should never have let her  
see him weak. The fool. He might have kept her looks, and  
her youth, but he had still failed her.  
  
The pieces were starting to fall into place. She had  
confirmed that the Senshi of Silence had been reborn. Soon  
the last days of the Moon Kingdom would be upon them.  
  
-  
  
Ranma blinked her eyes. She was back in the present for the  
moment.  
  
"Ranma? Can you hear me? Come on, please wake up. Don't do  
this to me, I need you," Sailor Io said, rocking still form  
of Sailor Sun. She blinked back her tears. Lights flickered  
and danced from her tiara.  
  
Sailor Sun whimpered again as the lights played havoc with  
her synapses.  
  
"Quick, we need to blindfold her. Each time she sees  
something shiny, it sends her back into the trance," Chizuko  
said suddenly.  
  
But Sailor Sun was gone already.  
  
-  
  
Angwyn walked through the palace, waiting for her time to  
see the queen. She sat down in the antechambers, waiting her  
turn. She touched her shoulder pad, where Chizuko usually  
sat. Unfortunately, the guards had almost attacked her the  
last time, thinking that it was a demon in disguise. They  
were apologetic, but would not let the creature come into  
the palace again.  
  
She sighed, and looked around at the guards, and those who  
were waiting. Mostly the normal courtiers, but there was a  
young girl sitting next the tapestry that showed the first  
queen, centuries ago. Angwyn smiled at seeing such a young  
girl reading a book. Not many would take the time to teach a  
girl to read.  
  
She started when she saw the title of the book. A  
translation of the Pythagorean theorem and other  
mathematical theories? Sudden curiosity rose in her, and she  
sat next to the young girl. "Good morning! That seems to be  
a bit dry for such a young girl," Angwyn said, startling the  
young girl.  
  
"Good morning, Lady. It's not boring, really. It can be  
quite fascinating sometimes. I'm just waiting for my  
mother," the young girl stammered. She looked like she  
wanted to hide the book, and crawl up into a ball.  
  
"Really? You're the little scholar, aren't you? And what is  
your name?" Angwyn asked.  
  
"I'm Amillyn, Lady." The young girl pushed back her dark  
hair. She didn't seem upset at her reading, unlike some  
others.  
  
"I'm not a 'lady'. I am just a free woman, who likes to read  
sometimes. You can call me Gwyn if you like," Angwyn  
responded firmly.  
  
"Oh, of course Gwyn. Do you study math? I don't have a  
proper tutor anymore. I have to depend on books to expand my  
knowledge," Amillyn replied, hoping for a kindred spirit.  
  
"Math is one of my studies. Among other things of course."  
  
"Could you show me?" Amillyn asked suddenly. She reached  
into the small bundle next to her, and pulled out an inkwell  
and a piece of paper.  
  
Angwyn closed her eyes for a second. What should she put  
down? After a moment's hesitation, she put down one of her  
more complicated formulas down, dealing with dispersing  
energies in a matrix.  
  
Amillyn looked over the formula, and then laboriously  
started to disassemble it, and put it back together  
properly. "Done!" Amillyn said proudly.  
  
Angwyn started, and looked over the work. It was done  
differently than the way she had done it. The answer was  
slightly different too. "Could you explain how you did that,  
Amillyn?" Angwyn asked suddenly.  
  
"Sure! You take these two variables, and simplify." Amillyn  
continued to explain the system to her new friend. Soon they  
were enmeshed in a complicated discussion of procedures, and  
equations. Over an hour later, they were interrupted by a  
soft cough.  
  
"Excuse me, but it is time for us to leave Amillyn. Who is  
you new friend?" the older women in the distinctive dress of  
one of the Senshi asked suddenly.  
  
"Oh, this is Gwyn, she's been working with me on my math."  
Amillyn smiled, and looked at her new friend. "You'll write  
me? It's so nice to be able to discuss things like this with  
someone new and different.  
  
"Gwyn?" Mercury said, searching Angwyn's face carefully.  
"You remind me of someone. From a long time ago."  
  
"Your highness is too kind. You were party to the queen when  
she rescued me almost twelve years ago. Down in Imbrue  
Dells, after the village was attacked and destroyed." Gwyn  
looked over the older women for any signs of recognition.  
She turned back to Amillyn, who she realized had to be  
Mercury's daughter. "Of course I'll write you. You have been  
very helpful. You've corrected a lot of little mistakes that  
I've made."  
  
"Ah, I thought I remembered you. We'll be back of course. My  
daughter has special training to do at the palace. Along  
with the other young girls of the inner sphere," Mercury  
replied.  
  
Angwyn was surprised. "I thought the new Venus was more  
mature? She had her own child didn't she?" Angwyn asked.  
  
Mercury paused for a second, and then sighed. "You will  
probably hear about it soon enough. Melida was killed in an  
attack last week. We aren't sure if Sleone is going to wake  
up. So that leaves it up to her daughter."  
  
"Oh my god. This is a terrible blow. How did it happen?"  
Angwyn asked.  
  
"We wish we knew for certain." She turned her attention back  
to her daughter. "You will not mention this to the princess.  
She would become distraught, and ill."  
  
"Yes, mother."  
  
"Excuse me? Angwyn? The queen will see you now," a page  
said, catching her attention.  
  
"Please, take me to her." Angwyn pondered the changes that  
were happening. It almost looked as if things were getting  
much worse. It might boil down to war yet.  
  
-  
  
Angwyn adjusted the last lens and shutter. She glanced  
around the room to see if everything was in place. Sighing,  
she put down the tool into the bag, and took it back into  
the rest of her private fortress. She glanced around at the  
metal walls, and Chizuko sitting on her perch.  
  
"Are you ready, Angwyn?" Chizuko said, looking up from a  
book.  
  
"I think so. If not, I'll need you to bring news of my  
failure to the queen. I haven't sent her a letter in  
months," Angwyn responded. Her reflection caught her eye.  
She was trim and young looking woman, but obviously no  
longer a teenager. Her hand strayed to her stomach.  
  
"Are you all right? Do you want to talk about him?" Chizuko  
asked suddenly.  
  
"No, I don't. He left me, to marry that younger girl."  
Angwyn bit back her tears.  
  
"That wasn't the only reason, was it?" Chizuko had been hurt  
by her young mistress's pain. Perhaps she was finally ready  
to talk about it.  
  
"He, he left me because she gave him a son. When I could  
not. John threw me to the side once he had proof that I was  
barren. And I know why, now," Angwyn whispered.  
  
Chizuko stepped from one foot to the other. "Why didn't you  
tell me sooner? I'm your friend, and companion ever since  
that day that you rescued me."  
  
"I didn't want to admit that I had done it to myself,"  
Angwyn replied, fighting back tears. "My thirst for  
vengeance has ruined any chance I had for happiness. This  
will be the last session, binding my soul to the Sun. And  
the Sun to my soul for all time."  
  
"You don't have to do this, Angwyn."  
  
"It's all I have left. That and my mother's work. I've  
finished writing my works down. Even my history, so that  
others may learn from my folly." And with that she went back  
into the chamber, and knelt down. "Activate it. Let it be  
done, one way or another." She cradled a fist size stone of  
yellow rock.  
  
Chizuko nodded sadly. She used her beak to spin the dials,  
and move the levers. Energy thrummed, and shutters opened.  
And outside an amazing lattice grew. Larger and larger, it  
soon encompassed the entire Sun in its weaves. Slowly it  
matched the patterns of the volatile leylines of the center  
of the solar system. Minutes dragged out, and then finally  
it was done.  
  
Angwyn still knelt in the center of the focussing chamber,  
her clothing having been consumed in the flare of energy.  
She carefully sat there for a second and raised the stone  
above her. Wordlessly, she activated the stone. Energy  
flowed, and expanded. In moments she was transformed just  
like her young friend, Amillyn. She was garbed as they were,  
even if she didn't have the right.  
  
Chizuko stared in awe. So much power. She had done it.  
  
Sailor Sun stood for the first time, and then left quickly  
after grabbing a cloak. She looked out one of the many  
windows, and then disappeared in a flash.  
  
She still had her vengeance to exact on Reginald Lafayette,  
and his mysterious queen.  
  
-  
  
Sailor Sun appeared just within the palace grounds, amidst  
the frantic preparations of war. Luckily, one of the guards  
recognized her before she was attacked. In moments she was  
presented to the queen. Angwyn bowed, and then looked  
around. One of the moon cats was also present, Luna she  
thought.  
  
"Your majesty? What is going on?" Angwyn asked.  
  
"Treachery, most foul. The fleets have been subverted by  
Queen Beryl, and her forces. They have already struck out  
against my most powerful of allies. Saturn, Neptune and  
Uranus have already fallen. And I have no word on Pluto. The  
fleet will be returning shortly. Not that they need bother.  
Beryl's forces have us almost pushed back to the palace  
already." The queen looked haggard, and almost defeated. "I  
could seal away those here on the Moon and on the Earth. But  
not the fleet also. Not as far the fleet is now."  
  
Angwyn licked her lips, which were suddenly dry. "I may be  
able to defeat the fleet, you majesty." The moon cat perked  
its ears up at that.  
  
A bit of hope dared show on Serenity's face. "Your  
experiments have born fruit?"  
  
Angwyn nodded, and then took in a deep breath. "I have  
managed to forge the link in between myself and the Sun,  
just as the Senshi and yourself have done with you planets."  
  
"Your majesty! This is insane. How can you trust her to do  
this? If you do not strike down your enemies at the right  
time, you will fail. We must try to hold out until the fleet  
is closer," Luna said, standing as tall as the black cat  
could.  
  
"You must have faith in your loyal vassals, Luna. Faith must  
carry us. How long will it take to deal with them, Angwyn?"  
Serenity asked, suddenly intent.  
  
"Perhaps an hour, less if I hurry. Your majesty, will you  
take my link to the Sun, and guard it? What I will do, I  
will not survive. But you deserve no less from me for your  
kindness," Angwyn said, and pulled out her soul link. It  
glowed brightly, filled with power.  
  
Luna blinked, and averted her eyes. The raw power imbued,  
and contained in that crystal was immense. It was just  
possible that this girl that she had met only a few times,  
might be able to do what she said.  
  
"By you leave." A short bow to her beloved queen, to hide  
her tears. And then Angwyn disappeared in a flash of light,  
leaving her most precious creation in her liege's hands.  
  
-  
  
Twenty minutes later, a flash of light appeared in front of  
the fleet. One hundred vessels strong, imbued with magic to  
make the journey between planets. Over half of them were  
gone. Destroyed or just missing? It didn't matter anymore.  
She would do her best to destroy what was here.  
  
One last flash of light, and she was on the first ship. Her  
sword appeared in her hand, and sprang to fiery life. "Solar  
Flare!" Sailor Sun cried out, igniting the top deck, and  
slaying over a dozen fiendish looking men in one burst of  
energy.  
  
Three more ships of the line were destroyed in minutes,  
precious minutes. On the fourth ship she encountered a  
greater obstacle. A man, dressed in the court garb France.  
Still as young as ever, Reginald Lafayette stood in her path  
of destruction.  
  
"So we meet again, Angwyn Weaver. Survivor of the Imbrue  
Dells massacre, and puppet of Queen Serenity. It took me  
years to discover that it was you that had robbed me of my  
sight. So you have joined your queen in her moment of  
defeat? How foolish," Reginald said, venom dripping from his  
words. His eyes gleamed a bright red, showing his possession  
to all who had the Sight.  
  
"Reginald. So you are prepared to finish our little battle  
from a decade ago?" Angwyn responded.  
  
"You cost me my sight, and my soul. The only reason I still  
exist, is because Queen Beryl wishes it so. She pulls the  
strings that bind this evil in place of my soul." He reached  
into a pouch, and pulled out a glowing crystal. "Does this  
look familiar? Yes, a soul crystal. Only from the most  
powerful of the young. This one in fact is of particular  
import. It is your brother's."  
  
"What?" Sailor Sun exclaimed. She had an awful premonition.  
  
"Oh yes. And do you know what happens when it is destroyed?  
That soul is utterly destroyed. Like so!" His fingers flexed  
suddenly, crushing the crystal instantly. "Don't worry,  
Angwyn. You'll soon follow your brother into oblivion, I  
swear that."  
  
"You bastard." Angwyn stared at the shards that disappeared  
into the ether. Her hand tightened on her sword, a golden  
aura flared into existence around her. "You'll burn for  
that. This is your last day."  
  
Reginald laughed, and then struck with tendrils of  
blackness. Sailor Sun parried with a sword made of sunlight,  
and power. She wouldn't run out of power this time. She had  
solved that problem years ago. Reginald swept an arm across  
the men on the deck. Instantly they grew deformed, showing  
their demonic nature that was hidden in each of the sailors.  
They leaped at the glowing figure in front of them. She  
parried and blocked, reaping a whirlwind of death and  
destruction. The lessons she had learned from the palace  
swords master served her well. In minutes the only thing  
left on the deck were Reginald and her.  
  
"Interesting. You've improved, my dear nemesis. But then  
again, so have I," Reginald said. And with that he shed the  
physical limitations of his form. Swirling darkness flowed  
from him for one second, and then reformed into a giant  
demon, twelve feet tall. Seemingly more than a shadow, less  
than a real man, it stretched it claws, and roared, showing  
its maw filled with teeth.  
  
"Searing Plasma Blast!" Sailor Sun cried out, striking  
directly out at the demon.  
  
He disappeared like he had never existed. Sailor Sun started  
to turn, barely blocking the better part of the blow that  
was meant to rip her spine out.  
  
"Pitiful. Soon we will dance on the graves of the Moon  
Kingdom, and bring a darkness like no one has seen before. I  
will keep you skull as a monument of my victory here." The  
demon laughed, and licked her blood off of its claws. "It  
truly is the end of the world, just like they prophesied."  
  
They repeated her blasting out at him, and failing to hit.  
He would cut her as she blindly tried to defend herself from  
his claws. Cuts now covered her legs, and arms. One cut had  
almost taken her life, by nearly ripping out her throat.  
  
Sailor Sun panted and groaned. She had to defeat him, so  
that she could destroy the fleet. From the glances she been  
able to see, they were spreading out. She wouldn't be able  
to get them all in the time that the queen needed. Not  
conventionally.  
  
Sailor Sun held up her sword, and then started spinning it.  
She danced from block to attack, and then to block again.  
Each swing of her sword left a trail in the air, and  
scorched the thing that was Reginald if he got too close.  
She hadn't meant to use this power, and she wasn't sure if  
it would work. But there was no other option. She promised  
the queen that she would stop the fleet, and she would.  
  
"What are you doing? You don't think this will save you, do  
you?" the shadow thing yelled, trying again to claw her, and  
failing. "You're just human, you can't win. You will tire,  
and then you will die!" It studied the sphere of lines that  
was springing into existence around her. It looked familiar,  
somehow.  
  
Sailor Sun finished her dance, sword flashing in a sweep.  
"Solar Supreme Nova," she whispered.  
  
And then there was light, and heat. Sailor Sun and the demon  
didn't have time to scream as they were instantly reduced to  
their subatomic components. The farthest ship in the fleet  
didn't even time to react as the flare of energy hit them at  
light speed.  
  
At the edge of the burst, a space station was rocked, and  
damaged. But Chizuko was safe in her stasis field, unaware  
of the events that had happened just a short ways away.  
  
-  
  
Queen Serenity sat in her palace hall, waiting for the  
destruction of all she held dear. Behind her sat two  
cylinders, each with a moon cat in suspended animation. She  
had given them their instructions, and prepared them as best  
as possible.  
  
All of a sudden, the glowing crystal in front of her  
flashed, and went dimmer. With a certainty that she wouldn't  
have believed possible, she knew that Angwyn had done what  
she had sworn, and died to do it. She held the crystal close  
to her for a second. She deserved this, if any non-noble  
did.  
  
She chanted the words she knew so well, shaping the thing of  
magic in front of her. It changed into a rod, and then  
stabilized, flickering faintly.  
  
Serenity flicked it into the subspace holding vault, until  
one of the two moon cats would call it forth with the other  
seven henshin sticks. Serenity knew that Pluto was still out  
there, somewhere. She had been unable to summon her henshin  
stick. But Pluto would also be able to access the hidden  
vault if she needed to.  
  
She could hear the pounding on the doors. They would soon  
fall. A wave of her hand, and the two cats disappeared. One  
last mental instruction, explaining to them what had  
happened.  
  
And then she cupped her hand, and summoned the Silver  
Crystal. It was powered by life, and love. And what she  
needed it to do would drain her soul utterly. There was no  
hope that she would come back in the next cycle. But her  
daughter and her protectors would, if they were all lucky.  
  
The last door broke down, and the horde of warriors roared  
their challenge at Queen Serenity. One of them raised a  
knife to throw at her when the room exploded into light. The  
demon ridden creatures had just a second to scream before  
they were thrust into the newly created sub-dimension. The  
light expanded outwards, quickly encompassing the Earth and  
the Moon. All who were tainted by the dark Queen Beryl and  
her mistress disappeared in the blink of an eye.  
  
And in a little shrine in a small town on the side of a  
mountain in the country that would be known as Japan, a  
flickering glow appeared, and then was absorbed into the  
statue. And would stay hidden for almost a thousand years.  
  
-  
  
Sailor Sun awoke to darkness, and soft murmuring in her  
ears. "Do you think that will work?" Akane asked.  
  
"It should allow her to gain control. I've never seen it do  
this before. I'm quite worried."  
  
Sailor Sun tensed, expecting to be thrown back into the  
past. But the blindfold stopped the torrent of light. By  
inches and degrees, she managed to gain control. "Water,"  
Ranma croaked.  
  
"Ranma! You're all right. Here, drink this," Akane said,  
helping the redhead to drink.  
  
"Ouch. Remind me to not do that again." Sailor Sun shook her  
head carefully. Nothing rattled, but she had a doozy of a  
headache. She reached up and carefully removed the  
blindfold. She blinked her eyes to clear the spots from  
them. "Hi, Chizuko. How long was I out, and how is the  
station?"  
  
"About an hour. It was a little easier to fix this time,  
because I knew what had failed last time. The shields are  
repaired, and you can revert if you want to," Chizuko said  
calmly.  
  
"What happened Ranma? Those lights hit you, and then you  
passed out." Akane bit her lower lip nervously.  
  
"I, uh, think I accidentally put myself into a hypnotic  
trance. My past life used that to absorb or recall a lot of  
information quickly. I just took a trip down memory lane.  
Her memories. Angwyn's," Ranma said, then took a sip of the  
water.  
  
"So you remember a lot more?" Akane asked.  
  
"Yeah. Some of it wasn't pleasant. Remembering yourself  
dying wasn't fun," Ranma said, shuddering slightly. Ranma  
had only ever had that feeling once before, when she had  
thought Akane had been killed by Saffron.  
  
No, that wasn't right. It was when she had gone to rescue  
Akane from Jadeite's dimension. She hadn't gone back to  
Jusenkyo, or Phoenix Mountain. She shook her head again to  
clear the cobwebs out. She took off the blind fold, and  
looked around, blinking.  
  
"Are you feeling all right, Ranma? We need to get home, and  
deal with that mess, and plan on moving out still," Akane  
said hesitantly.  
  
"Sure. I'm lots better now. And you're right. We still need  
to deal with the parents yet." Ranma stood up, and adjusted  
her skirt unconsciously. "Ready, Chizuko?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
And another flare of light and they all disappeared.  
  
-  
  
Minutes later a beam of light struck the Tendo's yard.  
  
They glanced around to see if anyone was there, reverted,  
and then walked past the pond and into the house. Everything  
glistened like new, droplets still in evidence from the  
passing rain.  
  
They spotted Kasumi watching one of her favorite shows.  
  
"We're home!" Akane announced loudly. She glanced around,  
trying to spot her father. "Where's dad?"  
  
"Oh he's still lying down. He didn't feel very well when he  
and Mr. Saotome came home late this morning," Kasumi said  
brightly. "I'm just about to start dinner."  
  
"Wow, he and pop must have really got liquored up. It's  
pretty late in the afternoon," Ranma said. "By the way  
Kasumi, this is Chizuko. We kinda rescued her, and so she  
decided to stay with us."  
  
Kasumi blinked, and then looked over at Ranma, and the large  
hawk perched on her shoulder. "That is quite a magnificent  
bird, Ranma. Are you sure someone won't be looking for it?"  
  
"Nah, I'm pretty sure. Have you seen my mother?" Ranma  
asked, sitting down in front of the TV.  
  
"She said that she had to run some errands, but she promised  
that she would be back shortly." Kasumi walked off to start  
preparing dinner.  
  
Akane plunked down next to her husband. They casually  
wrapped their arms about each other, and sat enjoying each  
other's company. Ranma did switch the station as soon as  
possible though. Ugh, soap operas.  
  
Nabiki watched them for a moment, and then stepped back into  
the hall slowly. After just a moment to make sure that no  
one had noticed her exit, she picked up the phone. "Hello,  
Shampoo? Yes, they just got home. No it doesn't look like  
they are leaving anytime soon." A pause. "This one's for  
free, all right? Just don't mention that I told you.  
Thanks." She hung up the phone. Casually she walked  
upstairs, and started her homework. It wouldn't do to appear  
right when Shampoo walked in.  
  
-  
  
Shampoo leaped from roof to roof, followed by a short figure  
wielding a gnarled staff. Long white hair flowed from behind  
Cologne as she followed Shampoo in the direction of the  
Tendo's. She kept a wary eye out for Mousse as he shadowed  
them.  
  
Shampoo landed on the ground in front of the wall of the  
yard. Normally, she would just leap over the wall and enter  
the house normally. But this time, she felt it necessary to  
release a bit of frustration. A loud shuddering boom echoed  
through the yard as Shampoo demolished a section of the  
wall.  
  
"Nia ho, husband. You come on date with Shampoo, yes?"  
Shampoo said loudly, spotting her red hair through the open  
porch.  
  
"Jeez, Shampoo. You didn't need to knock down the wall. And  
I am NOT your husband!" Ranma yelled back.  
  
"Shampoo have question. Did Ranma really say that he marry  
kitchen destroyer? If so, then she is obstacle to be  
removed," Shampoo said, disregarding Cologne's advice on how  
to approach Ranma.  
  
Akane bounded to her feet. She spun around, and set herself  
at the ready. "Yes, Shampoo, he did. He's my husband, and  
nothing you can do will change that."  
  
"Shampoo think pervert girl wrong. Shampoo defeat you and  
take Ranma home. And nothing A-kan-e can do about it."  
  
"Is that a challenge, Shampoo? If it is, I accept. I'll make  
you eat those words." Akane leaped outside, next to the koi  
pond.  
  
"Don't take too long, Akane. Kasumi's almost done with  
supper," Ranma called out, turning back to the TV.  
  
Cologne stared at Ranma in surprise. What happened to  
Ranma's over protectiveness? She called out to Shampoo, "Be  
careful, Shampoo. Treat her as if she were the most  
dangerous of opponents."  
  
"Yes, great-grandmother." Shampoo adjusted her posture  
slightly. She knew that Akane had improved, but she didn't  
think it was to that degree.  
  
She was relieved that she had after the first few moments of  
the battle. Akane was moving like lightning, her blows  
accurate and devastating. Already Shampoo had bruises that  
were going to last for days. Akane seemed to shrug off her  
worst blows. Shampoo upped the ante, by attacking at her  
full speed. Hands flashed to strike vitals and nerves.  
  
What she didn't expect was for Akane's hand to blur even  
faster, blocking all of her attacks, and landing her own  
blows. Shampoo leaped up to the top of the wall to get some  
distance. Akane charged, striking at the wall, yelling out,  
"Breaking Point!"  
  
Shampoo had just a moment to react, diving to the side. She  
hadn't been quite quick enough, and was pelted by the sharp  
pebbles. She landed and then leaped, just missing being  
kicked through the wall by Akane's follow up. So that was  
why Akane was shrugging off her attacks! She had learned the  
Breaking Point!  
  
"Aie! This not good. Stingers of the Bee!" Shampoo called  
out and then focussed for a moment, and then flung needles  
charged with ki. Each needle exploded when it struck the  
ground.  
  
Akane blinked in surprise. She had ducked on instinct alone,  
not realizing what Shampoo was doing. She smiled over at the  
standing amazon. She cried out, "Roaring Tiger Bullet!" and  
unleashed her own ki attack at the surprised amazon.  
  
In the blink of an eye, Shampoo was picking herself up. She  
was staggered for a moment. She was not going to lose to  
this, this weak and pathetic girl! She had but a moment to  
recover for Akane's charge. Hands and feet flashed in a  
furious symphony, until finally Shampoo's defenses  
collapsed. Blows hammered home in a blur. Shampoo's nose was  
crushed, and each of her vital spots on her front was hit.  
Akane finished with a wheel kick, knocking out the Chinese  
girl.  
  
Cologne gaped at the fight that she had just witnessed.  
Akane Tendo, once the weakest of Ranma's suitors had just  
soundly defeated Shampoo, one of the most dangerous martial  
artists in the area.  
  
In less than five minutes.  
  
And she hardly looked like she had been exercising. Only the  
barest sheen of sweat showed on her brow.  
  
"Shampoo!" Mousse yelled out, going to his fallen love.  
  
Nabiki watched from the second floor. The Akane she knew  
wouldn't have been able to defeat Shampoo a week ago, much  
less Ukyo. Though, actually, Nabiki couldn't remember those  
two ever coming to blows before. So she MIGHT have been able  
to defeat Ukyo.  
  
But still, this was a drastic change. Ranma must have done  
some serious training to get her this good. Or perhaps it  
had to do with them wanting to move out to Juuban?  
  
-  
  
Usagi finished knocking the water off of her umbrella, and  
putting it in its holder by the front door. "I'm home!"  
Usagi called out, slipping out of her shoes. She glanced  
around, trying to listen where her father was.  
  
"In here, dear! We're just sitting down to dinner," Usagi's  
mom called out. The sounds of dishes clinking merrily  
drifted from the kitchen.  
  
"Hi mom. Uh, who's this?" Usagi asked, looking at the  
stranger sitting at their table. She had the most outrageous  
pink hair, done in a style very similar to her own, though  
not quite so long. Close though. She looked to be about the  
same age too.  
  
"This is your cousin. Don't you remember her? He name is  
Usagi too, but she wants us to call her Usa." She started  
setting more bowls out, slapping Shingo's hand when he tried  
to reach for some food too quickly.  
  
"Hello, Usagi. How are you doing?" Usa asked, watching her  
carefully. She knelt down by her cousin.  
  
"I'm all right, I guess. I guess I'm just being silly, but I  
don't remember you very well. You say I'm your cousin?"  
Usagi asked. She looked around suddenly, noting the absence  
of her father. "Where's father?"  
  
"He had to work late tonight, so he'll be home later."  
  
"Yes. It's been a . . . . long time. What ever happened to  
that cat of yours? You know, Luna?" Usa asked.  
  
"Luna? I have, no had a cat named Luna?" Usagi asked. She  
closed her eyes, and tried to concentrate on an elusive  
memory. "I can't remember. It must have been a long time  
ago." Usagi started to have one of her headaches. One of  
those headaches that she got when she started to think back  
to that dream. The dream she'd had for the last couple of  
days.  
  
"Oh, ok. Well, I'm going to be going to school with you  
while I'm visiting." Usa beamed, trying to look innocent.  
  
Shingo piped up unexpectedly. "Say, Usa. Why are you  
visiting?"  
  
"Uh, my tutor thought it would be a good idea to visit some  
relatives." Usa cackled nervously. "You never know when you  
can see them again."  
  
-  
  
The next morning dawned beautifully. Ranma and Akane were  
walking down the road towards the bus stop and chatting  
about the last night.  
  
"Boy, I didn't think your dad was going to blow up like that  
about us moving out. How does Kasumi do that thing where she  
pops his demon head attack?" Ranma asked. "And boy was  
Mousse unhappy about you beating up Shampoo. I didn't think  
he'd be stupid enough to attack you though."  
  
"He's just being over protective again. You know that. And  
you need to ask Kasumi that, I don't know how she does  
that." Akane hummed a few bars of music, enjoying the scents  
brought to her by the breeze. She was wearing her new school  
uniform. Ranma was wearing his typical Chinese outfit, of  
course.  
  
"All we're doing is moving out for a little while. It's not  
the end of the world. We'll be back for spring break, and  
it's only a bus ride away." Ranma looked speculatively at  
the time on the front of a bank. "Man, I really don't want  
to ride the bus today."  
  
"Well, I'm not running all the way to Juuban."  
  
"We could take a shortcut. If you know what I mean?" Ranma  
suggested casually.  
  
"Hmm. That would give us more time to figure out what is  
going on, and try to get more information from the rest of  
the group," Akane mused. "Sure, why not?"  
  
"Let's get some privacy first. Up we go!" Ranma said loudly,  
jumping to nearest roof. Akane was but a bound behind him.  
  
As soon as they disappeared, Nabiki stepped out of the  
shadows behind them. "Damn. Now I'm never going to catch up  
to them."  
  
-  
  
"I guess you forgot that little fact, huh Ranma?" Akane  
teased, dashing into the classroom before anyone else showed  
up.  
  
Ranma followed her in. She harrumphed, and glared at the  
raven haired girl. "It's not funny."  
  
"So go and get some hot water. You're not helpless you  
know," Akane said, starting pull out her books. She also  
pulled out her notebook, and her pen. She started to write  
down something in her notepad.  
  
Ranma sat down, and ducked her head. She mumbled, "I'm gonna  
wait till class starts."  
  
Akane looked up in surprise. "What?"  
  
Ranma responded louder than she meant to, "I said, 'I'm  
going to wait till class starts'."  
  
"Um, this might sound silly, but why?"  
  
"If I'm gonna be living around here, it's no use hiding my  
curse. So I might as well tell people about my curse, before  
they find out about it and take it wrong," Ranma replied.  
  
"Why? You've always hid your curse as much as possible. This  
is quite a change for you," Akane said, searching for some  
sort of reason in her eyes.  
  
"We coulda avoided so many problems if I'd just told you  
that first time," Ranma said. "How much time did we waste  
because of my curse? How much more would the others have  
trusted me if I had told them? I'm not gonna mess up again."  
  
"Oh, Ranma." Akane looked at her husband with new respect.  
"It's . . . . your choice. That's quite a step for you."  
  
"Thanks, Akane." Ranma sat down in her seat, and took out  
her own books, and a pen.  
  
The door swished open, and a short, raven haired girl walked  
in and sat down. Akane looked up and smiled. "Good morning,  
Ami. How are you doing this morning?"  
  
Ami started, pulling her nose out of her book. Someone was  
here in the class before her? She looked back and forth  
between the two girls. Recognition dawned on her, as she  
remembered Akane from yesterday. She smiled shyly. "Hello  
Miss Akane. How are you doing? And who is this young lady?"  
Ami asked, bowing slightly.  
  
"I'm doing fine, Ami. This is Ranma," Akane replied smiling.  
  
Ranma stared at Ami. Ami was one of her best friends here in  
Juuban. She'd been her tutor, and one of her closest  
confidants. It was disconcerting, to say the least, that Ami  
couldn't even remember her. Ranma frowned, trying to figure  
some way to goad Ami into remembering her and Akane.  
  
Confusion warred with politeness on Ami's face for just a  
second. It wouldn't be polite to ask why this girl had the  
same name as Akane's husband, and was sitting in his desk.  
She was even out of uniform and wearing the same type  
clothing. Maybe it was a practical joke? "Hello!" Ami  
finally replied.  
  
"'lo Ami. Nice to meet you." Ranma drummed the desk with her  
pen, wracking her brain for an idea. Maybe asking her for  
help in studying? That might bring back some memories of her  
tutoring Ranma. "Um, Ami? Do you think you could help me  
with some of my homework? I heard that you were a really  
good teacher."  
  
"Why, thank you Ranma. What are you having problems with?"  
Ami asked, sitting at her desk.  
  
Ranma blinked, trying to think of something that she needed  
help with. Math. She was always having problems with math.  
"Some of my math problems are too tough. I kinda get lost  
when doing the problem," Ranma said back to her.  
  
Akane snickered. "So are you the 'Eternally Lost Math Boy'?"  
Akane asked impishly. "Or is that 'girl' right now?"  
  
"Hey! You take that back!" Ranma cried out, blushing  
severely.  
  
"Now, now. Why don't you write down the problem that is  
causing you grief, and we'll work it out before class," Ami  
said quickly, trying to forestall an argument.  
  
Ranma glared at Akane, receiving a grin and a raspberry in  
return. Ranma harrumphed, and started to absently write down  
a complicated math formula on a blank sheet of paper. She  
glared at Akane while handling the paper to Ami.  
  
Ami blinked. It would probably be better to do this on the  
chalkboard. She glanced at her watch. They had time to do  
this before class. Barely. Some of these symbols were a  
little strange, but she thought she recognized them. Humming  
softly, she went and started to transcribe the equation on  
the board.  
  
"Uncute!"  
  
"Dummy!"  
  
"Hammer girl!"  
  
"Jerk!"  
  
"Unsexy!"  
  
"Ha! You get to sleep of the floor for that comment!"  
  
"Ack! I didn't really mean that!"  
  
"Are you sorry?"  
  
"I'm sorry!"  
  
"Really sorry?"  
  
"Yes! I'm really, really sorry!"  
  
"You're forgiven, for now," Akane finished smugly.  
  
Ami wasn't sure that she wanted to know. "Excuse me Ranma.  
Where did you have a problem?" She held the chalk up, ready  
to start solving the problem.  
  
Akane glanced at the board, and jerked her head in surprise.  
She looked it over quickly. This was a problem that Ranma  
was having difficulty with? Akane barely recognized it as  
math.  
  
"Oops," Ranma mumbled to herself. That was one of Angwyn's  
final equations from her past life. "Uh, I was having  
problems with the third translation. For some reason the  
sigma variable in the equation is always coming out wrong. I  
can't see how to solve for it, without over complicating the  
rest of it."  
  
"Hmm. I see what you mean. It really looks like the equation  
is wrong though. Are you sure it isn't missing something?"  
Ami asked, chalk scratching up storm.  
  
"Hmm." Ranma closed her eyes, recalling the formula. "Nope  
that's definitely it, unless it's flawed."  
  
"Hand me my calculator, please." Ami received the  
calculator, and started tapping furiously. Several graphs  
appeared on the board, with corresponding notes. Ten minutes  
later, and several clarifications later, she had narrowed  
down the error in the equation.  
  
Akane just stared in surprise at her husband. Ranma had  
always hated math, but here she was discussing in depth  
theorems and theories. With Ami no less.  
  
"There. Changing this number to its prime, and marking it so  
gives us an accurate measure of what the end result will  
actually be." Ami smiled as she finished. She had liked  
that. It had challenged her. Several of the symbols were  
quite esoteric too. "That was quite entertaining, Angwyn."  
  
Ranma's face lit up. "What did you call me?"  
  
"Uh. Didn't I say Ranma?" Ami said, confused. She wasn't  
sure what she had said. But she never messed up names. It  
was too impolite.  
  
"No, you called me Angwyn. Don't you remember? Please try!"  
Ranma asked. Hope shown in her eyes.  
  
Akane held her breath. Ami closed her eyes, and seemed to be  
thinking hard. "I'm sorry. I just can't remember," Ami said  
finally. Images flashed before her. Images from the dreams  
that had been haunting her for the last few days. Finally  
they faded into the background. She felt that she had a  
small headache too.  
  
A hubbub grew in volume, as the rest of the class showed up  
just before the class bell rang. Usagi introduced a new girl  
to the teacher that looked startlingly like her, except for  
the pink hair she had. Soon everyone was seated and the  
teacher was calling the roll.  
  
"Ranma Saotome!" the teacher called out finally.  
  
"Here!" Ranma called out in her soprano.  
  
The teacher looked owlishly at the red haired girl. "Who are  
you, and what are you doing in Ranma's seat? Pranksters are  
not appreciated in my class."  
  
Ranma stood and took a deep breath, to the appreciation of  
the males in the class. "I am Ranma Saotome. I have a  
magical curse that turns me into a girl when I'm splashed  
with cold water. If I splash myself with hot water I revert  
back to my true form." Ranma took another deep breath,  
thinking 'soul of ice, soul of ice'. "Sorry about this."  
  
The class stared at Ranma incredulously.  
  
"Do you expect me to believe this story?" The teacher looked  
quite upset, and was frowning. "Fine. 'Ranma Saotome', come  
to the front of the class room." She rummaged around in her  
carry all, pulling out her thermos for her lunch tea. "Here  
is your hot water."  
  
Ranma brightened up. "Thanks." She took the thermos and  
opened it. She checked it, and found it was just barely warm  
enough. Without further ado, she dumped the thermos on her  
head.  
  
The entire class gasped, except for Usagi, Minako and Akane.  
Ranma casually closed the thermos and handed it back to the  
teacher. "Uh, can I sit down?" he asked the teacher.  
  
"Yes." The teacher reached for her purse, and pulled out a  
bottle. She quickly popped some pills, and then took a swig  
from her soda. She coughed just a little bit as she massaged  
her forehead. "All right class. Please open your book to  
page 215."  
  
Ami stared at Ranma with a poll-axed look. She had just seen  
something that shook her very outlook of life. Magic could  
be real. Maybe there was a reason they had asked her about  
her memories! It would explain these weird dreams she had  
been having.  
  
-  
  
Rei stared into the fire. She had been having recurring  
dreams. Violent dreams that kept intruding on her peaceful  
life as a priestess in training. Not only was it upsetting  
her peace, but it was giving her headaches. Rei wasn't one  
to give up on anything, so she was seeking answers this  
morning in her meditation fires before class.  
  
The carved wood of the shrine provided a soothing background  
for her meditation. The flames in the fire pit licked at the  
air, providing a soft illumination to the room. Slowly, the  
fire started to dance in a pattern. Whirling, flickering, an  
image appeared deep in the fire.  
  
First was a young girl in a gown, with long hair done up in  
elegant streamers and small balls. A glowing ball of light  
appeared in her hands, flaring beautifully before  
disappearing.  
  
Next, an image of a street ravaged and ruined showed up in  
the flames. A monstrous creature that looked vaguely spider-  
like was being attacked by three quick moving female  
fighters. The image was vague and confusing.  
  
The view shifted suddenly. It showed a cloaked man, sitting  
on a throne. He seemed to be petting a glassy figurine of a  
white cat. The view closed in on the figure, almost showing  
the shadowed face. It seemed to look into her eyes, and then  
glanced around. Rei jumped suddenly as the figure spoke to  
her, startling her out of her concentration.  
  
"Who are you? Another would be sorcerer? By the look of you,  
you are a meddling priestess. Be warned, interfere with me,  
and I shall crush you like an insect," the mysterious figure  
snarled. His eyes started to glow with a powerful aura. The  
inverted symbol of the moon flared into crimson life in the  
fires. Suddenly, the fire turned black, and became a pillar,  
reaching the roof. It didn't ignite the ceiling, but it was  
expanding quickly.  
  
The door to the room slammed open, and her grandfather slid  
in, looking around frantically. "Rei, quickly! We must  
banish this manifestation," he shouted, reaching into his  
robes for a warded piece of paper. He held it high, and in  
the direction of the black fire. He almost managed to look  
imposing, even as rotund as he was.  
  
Rei jerked as if shot. "Y-yes. Of course," she replied  
shakily. With unsteady hands, she joined her grandfather in  
chanting. From within her robes, she presented her own ward.  
  
The pillar convulsed suddenly, as if a strong wind had  
suddenly swept into the room. The chanting rose in cadence,  
growing quicker and more powerful with each phrase. The  
pillar rotated, as if seeking some escape.  
  
The old man took a step forward as he chanted, the fire  
recoiling from him. With a final shout and a great effort  
the fire went out.  
  
Gasping and wheezing, the old man collapsed. Rei wasn't  
feeling much better.  
  
"We will have to exorcise the room later, and purify it too.  
We are going to have to go over basic meditation and  
protections, Rei," he said sternly. "But later. I think I  
need some sake first. I'll call your school, and tell them  
that you won't be able to make it today."  
  
Rei nodded mutely. Now she knew that something was behind  
her dreams, and it was something truly evil. It was her duty  
as a priestess to confront evil spirits, and either bind  
them, or banish them. Anger swelled within her.  
  
She closed her eyes a moment, thinking back. Her eyes  
snapped open. She knew that street. It was in Juuban, near  
the high school. She would be there, and see what she could  
do.  
  
-  
  
Ukyo looked up when she heard the door ring. Her face showed  
a small bit of surprise. "Nabiki Tendo?"  
  
"Hello, Ukyo. You don't look so good. Can I speak to you and  
Konatsu privately?" Nabiki asked, carefully looking around  
the store at the few customers.  
  
"Sure. Why not? It'll be a few minutes yet though. Take in  
the curtain, would ya? Thanks." Ukyo scrubbed the grill,  
making it as clean a possible, and then turned it down. As  
the last customer walked out, she locked the door.  
  
"Your open early today. Aren't you supposed to be in  
school?" Nabiki asked, settling herself in a comfortable  
slouch.  
  
"And I'm sure you came all the way down here out of the  
kindness of your heart." Ukyo took a deep breath, and then  
called out, "Konatsu! Can you come down here?"  
  
"Of course, Miss Ukyo!" Konatsu said, walking into the room.  
As normal, he was dressed in a female kimono, and looking  
quite feminine.  
  
"Ok, spill it Nabiki." Ukyo frowned. She wasn't sure she  
wanted to hear what Nabiki said.  
  
"That's some negative attitude you've got, for a cute  
fianc'ee," Nabiki said with a smirk. "Actually, I need your  
help. Yours and Konatsu's, to be precise."  
  
"Why should I help you? You're Akane's sister," Ukyo said  
scathingly.  
  
"Because it's Akane that's got me worried. Did you hear that  
she defeated Shampoo?" Nabiki said with a frown.  
  
"Damn! Shampoo too? I didn't think she'd have the guts to  
even try," Ukyo said, disconcert showing in her voice.  
"Shampoo scared Akane. Badly." Almost as bad as she scares  
me!  
  
"I timed it actually. Fifty eight seconds. Akane barely  
broke a sweat. Mousse lasted about a minute and a half,"  
Nabiki replied. "She also isn't acting normally, either. I  
mean, she and Ranma are acting affectionate. Almost like a  
normal couple. Does this sound like something is wrong?"  
  
"It sounds like a nightmare. Do they really think of  
themselves as married?" Ukyo asked.  
  
"Considering they've been keeping me awake for the last two  
nights, I'd say yeah."  
  
The sound of metal stretching and bending filled the air.  
Ukyo let go of the remains of her cooking spatula, and let  
it fall to the grill with a metallic clink. "W-w-WHAT?!?!"  
she screeched suddenly. She grabbed Nabiki by her collar and  
held her up close. "You don't mean that they . . . . did it,  
do you?"  
  
"Yes. Akane, man hater and least likely to admit to wanting  
to marrying Ranma. And from the sounds she makes, she really  
likes it." Nabiki frowned, and waited for Ukyo to recover  
from her shattered heart.  
  
"So, how can I help?" Ukyo said finally. Her voice was cold,  
and emotionless. That, that SLUT! That's how she got to him!  
  
"Well, I need to find out why they are moving out, to go to  
Juuban High School. Not the reason they're saying, the real  
reason. They are both acting really strange and weird. And I  
want to know why." Nabiki waited a moment, and then  
continued. "And I'm going to need your help to find out,"  
Nabiki finished, looking over at Konatsu.  
  
"Me? Miss Nabiki, why me?" Konatsu asked, looking at the  
middle Tendo daughter.  
  
"You have ninja training, right? I need someone who can be  
sneaky, and follow two overly well-trained martial artists  
easily. Without tipping them off." Nabiki drummed her  
fingers on the table.  
  
"And what about me?" Ukyo asked, her posture stiff. Her  
voice was still very cold.  
  
"You're Konatsu's backup. Hopefully, you're both good enough  
to get away if they catch you following them," Nabiki said  
finally.  
  
"Good enough."  
  
-  
  
School couldn't end soon enough for some people. Ranma had  
done a lot better in math, to his surprise. But that didn't  
change that he really didn't like it. Strangely, he found he  
didn't hate it as much as he thought he would.  
  
This worried Ranma. It was like Angwyn's life was bleeding  
into his life. And that scared him. There were things that  
she had done that really unnerved him. The top most was her  
trying get pregnant for several years. Ranma knew that it  
was possible that his cursed form could get pregnant. After  
all, that was what the Musk used the spring for. Wives and  
the children they would bear.  
  
Ranma shuddered, and stepped out into the sunlight. At least  
today was a short day, and they could go home and get ready  
to move.  
  
"Come on guys, let's go to the arcade!" Usagi said suddenly.  
She had positively infectious smile plastered to her face.  
  
"Sorry, Usagi. Ranma and I have to go home and pack for our  
move. Can we take a rain check?" Akane said as she slung her  
backpack.  
  
"Sure, I guess. How about you Makato? Minako? Ami?" Usagi  
asked breathlessly.  
  
"I've got to get home, Usagi. My chores aren't going to get  
themselves done," Makato said. "Maybe I'll drop by in a few  
hours."  
  
"I've got volleyball practice, but I'll show up afterwards,"  
Minako said. She smiled as she replied to her friend.  
  
"I'll be over as soon as I do my homework," Ami said. She  
waved to her friends, and then walked off.  
  
Usagi looked around as everyone else left too. "Aww, no one  
wants to go with me." Usagi kicked a pebble out of her way,  
and then started to walk down the road. She brightened a  
little bit when she realized her friends did say they would  
try to show up.  
  
"Can I come with you, Usagi? It sounds like fun!" Usa said  
suddenly, surprising her 'cousin'.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I kind of spaced out there a second. Sure!  
Come one!" Usage said, smiling as she took off down the  
road. Usa was trailing behind, amazed at the speed that  
Usage could run at.  
  
-  
  
"My baby girl is moving out and leaving the family!" Soun  
Tendo wailed.  
  
"Now, father. It's not for forever. And they only going to  
live in Juuban. And Akane promised that it was only until  
they graduated from high school." Kasumi started to wipe up  
the mess that his crying was making.  
  
"And besides, it will give Akane and Ranma a chance to learn  
how to hold down a household by themselves, but still be  
able to call us for help if they really need it," Nodoka  
said to Soun. She smiled and thought to herself, they will  
also have the privacy for having children of their own.  
Grandchildren!  
  
Genma was avoiding this argument, as only a panda could. He  
waved the occasional sign, to try and interject some of his  
own comments. Everyone, except Soun was ignoring him as best  
as possible.  
  
"I'm home!" Nabiki said, walking in the door.  
  
"Oh, Nabiki, the school called to say that you weren't there  
today," Kasumi said cheerfully as she continued to wipe up  
the tears.  
  
"Nabiki, why weren't you in school?" Soun thundered  
suddenly.  
  
"Calm down, dad. I was just checking out some things. Or  
aren't you curious about why Ranma and Akane are suddenly so  
close?" Nabiki said casually. "I mean they went from  
screaming and yelling to a perfect married couple in one  
day. Jeez."  
  
Soun was about to start lamenting about his daughter being a  
delinquent, when a sudden a splash and a double screech of  
surprise distracted him.  
  
"Ranma, you idiot! Now we're all wet!" screamed Akane.  
  
There was a sudden flash of light from outside.  
  
"Hey! We could've taken the bus you know, you macho chick!"  
Ranma screamed right back.  
  
"Ranma! You take that back, you jerk!" Akane yelled.  
  
"Nyah! You couldn't hit me if you tri-ied!" Ranma sing-  
songed in her high pitched voice. More splashing was heard.  
  
"Oh, yeah?"  
  
"Yeah!" Ranma replied. "Oops!" A crashing thud was heard  
from outside, and the wall shook slightly.  
  
Kasumi opened the doors that led to the pond, letting Ranma  
fall upside down into the house. "Hello, Ranma. How was  
school?"  
  
"Fine Kasumi. How are you doing?" Ranma asked. She stood up  
and popped her neck.  
  
"Hi, Kasumi. Father. Hello, Nabiki. How is everyone?" Akane  
asked, smiling widely. Her skirt was wet up to her waist.  
  
Kasumi covered her mouth, hiding her smile. "We're fine. Did  
you want to help make lunch? I was going to make curry."  
  
Chizuko was busy trying to not fall of the wall while not  
laughing out loud. She had managed to avoid getting splashed  
with a quick beat of her wings.  
  
"Let me change first!" Akane said, dragging Ranma up the  
stairs.  
  
Nabiki gaped for just a second more, and then closed her  
mouth with a snap.  
  
"Somehow, I think they'll be fine," Nodoka said to Soun.  
"The moving van is going to be here in a couple of hours. So  
you had better finish packing," Nodoka called after the two,  
smiling at the young couple's antics.  
  
"My baby girl is moving out and leaving the family!" Soun  
wailed again.  
  
"Oh, father!" Kasumi said, frowning slightly. She cheered  
right back up though, thinking of writing a letter to a  
certain doctor who had moved to be closer to his mother in  
her old age. Akane was almost grown up, and was married  
after all. There was nothing holding Kasumi back from her  
life now.  
  
Finally.  
  
-  
  
Ranma closed the door after putting the last box down.  
"Jeez, Akane. Got enough stuff?"  
  
"Just because you could fit everything you own in one  
backpack, and three boxes doesn't mean I have a lot of  
stuff, Ranma!" Akane replied acridly, carrying some more  
clothes to their new closet.  
  
"You have six big boxes of clothing. And did we really have  
to bring you weights?" Ranma asked. He juggled them for a  
moment, before putting them near the bed.  
  
"I've got to keep my girlish figure, don't I?" Akane  
replied, arching an eyebrow.  
  
"Uh, yeah! I'm not gonna argue that one. So what do you want  
to do after we get most of this unpacked?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Well, we still need to go shopping for kitchen supplies and  
food. We can't afford to eat out that often. I've got my  
mother's notebook, and some recipes that Kasumi gave me,"  
Akane replied nervously.  
  
"And then maybe we can try talking to the rest of the girls  
and try to figure out what the heck happened. Do you agree  
Chizuko?" Ranma asked the hawk. He very carefully avoided  
mentioning anything about Akane's cooking.  
  
"That sounds wise. I will, of course, not need any food.  
Just leave the drapes open, and I'll be fine," Chizuko  
replied.  
  
-  
  
A figure struggled weakly in the air of a dark alley. He  
jerked and twisted, as if caught in a web that wasn't there.  
Streaks of gray lined his hair, contrasting his leather  
jacket and ripped jeans. A switchblade was clutched in his  
hands.  
  
The reason for his gray became apparent as his struggles  
continued. In moments, his hair turned white, and great  
amounts of wrinkles appeared. His hands became weak, and  
dropped the knife.  
  
With a horrifying rasp, his breath stopped.  
  
Suddenly, a large insectoid figure appeared next to him.  
Line of force became visible, showing the strands of a  
complicated web.  
  
"Such a long life that you would have had. It feeds me well,  
and gives me the power that I need," the thing spoke to  
itself. Carefully, it removed the carcass, and carried it  
into the sewers.  
  
A macabre sight was open to its view. Only three humans, as  
withered as the thing that he carried. But skeletons of many  
rats, cats and dogs also filled the gossamer webs.  
  
"Soon, Pluto. Soon I will have the power to revenge my self  
on you and your kind. You guardians of time brought genocide  
to us, and now… now an enemy of yours has brought us back.  
And you do not expect us, because you have killed us all."  
It put the latest figure into the webs.  
  
It curled up into a ball, and glowed slightly. "You can't  
feel us over the distortion, can you Pluto? You don't know  
we are back. And it only takes one of us. For we are one  
being, unkillable as long as one lives. And we are hunters,  
and take the chronal energies."  
  
The glow stopped, and the spider-like creature carried the  
cocoon, and placed it carefully in the center of the web.  
"We are bound to do the bidding of our summoner. Until he is  
dead of course. And then we can plan our revenge, even if it  
takes a thousand years."  
  
"Soon, Pluto. Soon."  
  
-  
  
Sailor Pluto concentrated, sitting in the air, out of time.  
Carefully, she opened her eyes. Her eyes were filled with  
worry. The time stream was usually placid and simple to  
read. And at other times, it was a swirling eddy, hard to  
read, but manageable.  
  
And then there were times like now. Besides her own careful  
manipulations, three or four other disturbances muddied her  
sight. One was the overpowering entity that had reverted the  
senshi back to their hidden forms, and caused their memories  
to be changed. Its power rivaled that of the Silver Crystal.  
  
Another was familiar, but obviously not of her time. Could  
it be a future self? Could things be that desperate? It was  
subtle, but not undetectable.  
  
And lastly, something from ancient times. How ancient was  
hidden from her. But powerful. Perhaps a time hag? They were  
powerful, but tended to be overconfident. But they could  
hide easily from even the most prying of eyes. And if they  
detected her in a moment of weakness, they could undo her.  
  
Indecision showed itself on Setsuna's face. She was blinded  
by being to close to the disturbance. What was she supposed  
to do?  
  
She would trust in the new Sailors Io and Sun. This was  
probably the reason that they had joined in the destiny of  
the future moon court.  
  
She was just lucky that she had been in the time stream,  
making sure that the events that were needed to make Ranma  
join actually happened. Otherwise, she was just as  
vulnerable to something like this.  
  
Besides, someone had to make sure that that martial artist  
was cursed.  
  
-  
  
Usa focussed on the game in front of her, trying her best to  
win. Who would have thought that Usagi was so good at  
something like this? Her character fell to the side,  
defeated by the hoards of the alien war master.  
  
"Don't worry, Usa! You're getting the hang of it!" Usagi  
said cheerfully, continuing to blast away with abandon.  
  
"I think I'll let Minako play for a while." Usa stepped  
back, and let one of the other girls start to play.  
  
Minako inserted her own coin, and started to play. She  
grinned, and laughed as Makato and Ami cheered them on.  
  
Usa shivered again. A cold chill crept up her back. Looking  
carefully around, she spotted a young man staring into the  
arcade from across the street. He stared at her for a  
moment, and then started to walk away. It was definitely  
coming from him, she was sure.  
  
She casually walked out the door, and then down the sidewalk  
in the direction that the leather clad man went.  
  
Usagi's character finally died, much to her distress. She  
vacated a spot for Makato (Ami never played as much as the  
others), and looked around for her cousin. She still had  
some questions about her cousin. She looked around, trying  
to spot her. "Hey, guys? I'm going to go and find Usa, all  
right? I'll be right back!" Usagi said as she stepped  
outside.  
  
Ami nodded and waved, acknowledging that she was leaving.  
  
Usagi glanced either direction, pausing to see if she could  
see the pink haired girl. "Hmm. Where did she go?" Usagi  
said to herself.  
  
Home, of course! She must be hungry.  
  
-  
  
Usa followed carefully, her every sense heightened to the  
highest degree. She turned the corner into an alley,  
expecting to see the figure. Well, she did, but not on the  
top of the roof, leaping away. She ran, summoning a crystal  
brooch into her hand. A corona of light exploded around her.  
  
In moments, she was clothed in a sailor suit, and leaping to  
the roof herself. She followed the figure for a while, until  
he disappeared around a corner. She crept up to it, and then  
looked for where he was headed. Where did he go?  
  
"So, who do we have here?" a voice said from behind her.  
  
Usa ducked and then leaped while blocking any attacks,  
landing facing the mysterious figure.  
  
"You must be one of these 'Sailor Scouts'. Odd, you don't  
fit the description of any of them. Who are you?" he asked  
harshly. His eyes glowed a dim red, almost invisible in the  
daylight.  
  
"I am Sailor Moon, and for making the Sailor Senshi forget  
who they truly are, I shall punish you!" Usa said proudly.  
  
"Where is Sailor Pluto? I must have her. I must bring her to  
the master," the figure cried out.  
  
"I d-don't know. And I wouldn't let you have her any ways!  
It is the job of the Sailor Senshi to defend everyone from  
evil," Sailor Moon said, voice choking slightly. This thing  
wanted Sailor Pluto? A minion? Not the true enemy then.  
  
"I think you are lying, little girl. I shall help your  
memory, with a few pointed reminders," he said shortly,  
pulling out a switch blade.  
  
"Your knife doesn't scare me! Moon Tiara Action!" the pink  
haired Neo-Sailor Moon cried out as she threw her tiara.  
  
The figure seemed to flicker, awakening an odd tingling in  
Usa. The tiara passed right through him, and snapped back to  
her hand. Uh, oh.  
  
"Is that your best? Far too easy," the man snickered. He  
charged forward in the blink of an eye. The blade glowed  
with an incandescent aura.  
  
Pain blossomed as the Neo-Sailor Moon flew through the air,  
striking the unyielding surface of a wall. She gasped in  
pain, and the wound slowly oozed blood. It wasn't a deep  
wound, but it stung quite a bit.  
  
With a quick motion, she leaped into one of the alleys,  
dodging his next attack. She threw her tiara again, and  
managed to hit him, but it seemed like he healed it up  
instantly. She had just grabbed her tiara, when he appeared  
next to her again. He snagged her, and with inhuman  
strength, threw her through the wood fence at the end of the  
alley, and into the street. Her flight was stopped abruptly  
by her impact into the windshield of a car.  
  
Neo-Sailor Moon gasped for breath. How could this thing be  
that fast?  
  
  
"Io Lumina Power. Make Up!"  
  
"Sun Lumina Power. Make Up!"  
  
Usa looked over in surprise. Who were they?  
  
"More senshi? It doesn't matter, two or a dozen, I shall  
defeat you all!" the man said, shedding his human disguise.  
The H'rogth stood to its full gigantic size, dwarfing the  
females. It charged the newcomers, expecting them to either  
leap away, or try to blast it with their attacks. "Bring me  
Sailor Pluto!"  
  
He was not expecting them to rush him, and unleash their own  
vicious martial attacks. A few blows pummeled home, before  
he could change the flow of time. Even then, he was still  
hit occasionally. It was uncanny how fast they moved. It  
would require a great deal of energy to avoid all of their  
strikes. Unnecessary too.  
  
A large hawk cried out, winging high over head. Chizuko  
watched the battle with concern.  
  
They weren't hurting him enough. His own blows were striking  
them, and soon he lured them into the alley, even the faux  
Sailor Moon. The only real attacks that he truly avoided,  
were the magical blasts. He led them on a chase for a few  
more blocks, and then led them into his snares. Suddenly,  
they were all caught, ensnared in his webs. Shock showed on  
their faces.  
  
"And now it ends. Where is Sailor Pluto?" the H'rogth asked  
again. It walked over on six of its legs, preparing for the  
feast it was about to have.  
  
-  
  
Rei sat on a bench, near a bus stop, waiting. This was the  
location from her dream. It was idyllic and pleasant.  
Nothing showed that a fight had ever happened. And so she  
had waited most of the afternoon.  
  
Could she have been mistaken? She was so positive that she  
needed to be here, to be involved. Something about the fight  
tugged at her soul. She looked up from her book suddenly.  
  
Something was going to happen, she could feel it. Screams  
from just down the road were her only warning. A gigantic  
figure, vaguely humanoid, but mostly arachnid. It was a  
horror, fighting three sailor suited warriors at once. Cars  
were crushed, and the storefronts around them were trashed  
with casual ease.  
  
Rei gaped in astonishment. Her vision hadn't given her the  
sense of destruction and mayhem. She started to struggle  
against the crowd, trying to follow the battle. She chased  
them down an alley, and around a corner.  
  
"And now it ends. Where is Sailor Pluto?" the H'rogth asked  
again. It walked over on six of its legs, preparing for the  
feast it was about to have.  
  
Rei had a good view, being behind the creature. Her fingers  
reflexively clutched, and her wrist twisted. A simple  
action, done hundreds of times, instinctive and sure.  
  
"We don't know, you stupid cockroach!" the red haired girl  
said. She struggled to release herself, glowing brightly.  
  
Rei's head throbbed painfully. She grasped her temple,  
holding the odd rod to her head. Memories collided in her  
mind. She could sense that something was affecting her,  
trying to change her. Make her something she wasn't. Forcing  
her to do as it wanted, not as she willed. Trying to leave  
her alone, always alone.  
  
"Let us go!" the dark haired girl yelled.  
  
Rei's vision blurred, the pain was so great. She wasn't go  
to fail, she wasn't going to do what someone else wanted.  
She collapsed to her knees, eyes squeezed shut in pain. She  
wasn't going to be left, abandoned.  
  
"Fools. If you give me Sailor Pluto, your suffering will be  
short."  
  
"Mars Lumina Power. Make Up!" Rei screamed suddenly, arm  
raised high. Bright light flashed, and enveloped her. The  
sound of crystal cracking was heard in the distance.  
  
-  
  
The cracking sound traveled wide, startling three girls in  
an arcade. Sudden memories came to them.  
  
The sound traveled further, finding two older girls at their  
home, taking care of a much younger girl that they  
considered their daughter. All three of them jerked to their  
feet, suddenly worried.  
  
It rung loudly to a young man in a college class, startling  
him straight in his seat. Sudden danger to his loved one  
forced him to feet instantly. A rose appeared in his hand.  
  
And one young girl, searching for her cousin, remembered.  
"LUNA!" she called out, running down the street frantically.  
She headed to the heart of the city.  
  
And in a dark room with a throne, a black crystal showed its  
flaw. Stressed horribly by energies that shouldn't be able  
to be released, cracks grew across it. Two hands grasped it,  
and the cracks started to heal, as beads of sweat grew on  
Wiseman's face.  
  
-  
  
"Sailor Mars!" Sailor Sun cried out in relief.  
  
"As I said before, two or a dozen, it makes no difference!  
You shall all fall before me!" the creature screamed,  
leaping at the latest threat.  
  
Mars leaped, and focussed. A gout of flame formed in her  
hands. "Burning Mandalla!" she screamed out as she flung it  
at the demon before her. She was shocked when it  
disappeared, only to reappear to her side. She barely dodged  
its attack, by leaping up into the air. Her blast merely  
nicked the web that held the trio prisoner.  
  
It laughed horribly, until it was struck from behind. It  
shrieked and turned around to see the pink haired senshi  
control the flight of her tiara. It snapped to her free hand  
after weaving an erratic flight path, severing the web that  
held them.  
  
Sailors Sun and Io cracked their knuckles as they landed.  
"Let's try that again. Don't you say?" Sailor Sun grinned  
evilly.  
  
With a roar, the H'rogth charged forward. He expended more  
energy to alter time around it, going even faster still. To  
even the trained eye, he was a blur. To the untrained or  
unaided eye, he was invisible.  
  
All four of the Senshi were being pummeled mercilessly.  
Sailor Sun slipped on a piece of garbage, and was flung back  
into the street, bouncing off of two cars. "Ouch. That thing  
hits harder than Ryoga."  
  
"Sailor Sun!" Ami cried out. Minako and Makato stood next to  
her. Their hands clenched into fists, and summoned their  
henshin sticks.  
  
Sailor Sun looked up in relief.  
  
Three cries, and three transformations later, they were  
ready. Sailor Sun smirked. Just what they needed. Now to set  
a trap.  
  
-  
  
Usagi dashed down the road. She remembered. Everything.  
Sailors Mercury and Mars had detected something evil  
appearing down town just after getting back from Solitude.  
Deciding to find out who there new enemy was, the Inner  
Senshi had sent in the moon cats to scout it out. It was a  
good plan, made up by Ami. They had informed the Outer  
Senshi, and told them where Sailor Sun and Io where. They  
had agreed to be backup, and wait. Pluto had been missing.  
  
Instead of wasting time fighting a bunch of underlings, find  
the main enemy, and bring the fight to them. Less people  
hurt, and less chance of getting hurt. It was working too.  
Artemis had kept them up to date, and Luna had discovered  
where the latest menace was. They were about to move in,  
when Artemis had been discovered.  
  
Over their communicators, she had heard a voice from someone  
she was sure was dead. Wiseman. She and little Usa had  
defeated him with the power of not one Silver Crystal, but  
two. They didn't hear much, but Wiseman had been shouting at  
the diminutive advisor, calling him a traitor, and a lair.  
And then they heard a primordial scream from Artemis.  
  
And then the light had hit. Usagi didn't understand,  
couldn't believe that Wiseman had already gained this much  
power over them. She couldn't fight it, even with the Silver  
Crystal. And then she had forgotten. Everyone had, except  
the Saotomes Usagi realized. And her . . . . child from the  
future. Her child who was the same age as her right now.  
  
Usagi skidded to a halt, and then dashed into a cathedral,  
passing a startled priest. It had been in the basement, she  
remembered. She skidded down the stairs, and stepped into  
darkness. With her brooch in hand, she transformed into  
Sailor Moon. The others would be on their way. But she  
wasn't going to wait. Her friends were in danger.  
  
"Wiseman! Release Luna and Artemis!" Sailor Moon yelled out.  
Her scepter appeared in her hands.  
  
"Well, well. Pretty Sailor Moon. I'm not sure how you broke  
free, and remembered, but it makes little difference. My  
Black Crystal will still defeat you easily enough," Wiseman  
drawled. His dark eyes burned, red flashing over his  
inverted moon symbol. He sat in his throne again, the black  
crystal floating above him.  
  
"I defeated you in the past! And I can do it again!" Sailor  
Moon said defiantly.  
  
"But I know your weakness, now. How do you think I hid the  
power from you, little girl?" Wiseman smiled thinly.  
  
Usagi gulped. Maybe this wasn't such a smart idea. And then  
she saw two little statues. One black, one white. Little  
cats, frozen in time. "Oh, no. Luna!"  
  
-  
  
The H'rogth was becoming frustrated, and even more upset.  
More and more of these putrid girls were showing up every  
second. First that girl who had managed to free the trapped  
Senshi, and then the other three. They had almost trapped  
him, and stopped his existence short.  
  
And now three more. Two older girls, plus one who looked  
like she was the youngest of them all. He had learned to be  
cautious of them, for they wielded weapons of power. The  
halberd was quite a surprise to say the least.  
  
But they still hadn't attacked him where it would really  
hurt. They couldn't, after all. They didn't know that he was  
a creature of time. And energy attacks were inconveniencing,  
but that was all.  
  
"Come on guys, this is getting ridiculous. How the heck can  
this thing be taking this much damage!" Sailor Io  
complained.  
  
"At least it's sharing the bruises evenly," Sailor Jupiter  
said with a smile. She ducked, and let loose with a blast of  
lightning.  
  
"STOP!" commanded an imperious female voice.  
  
The fight paused for a second, to take in the last  
participant. Sailor Pluto had arrived. "H'rogth, thy kind  
where expunged from existence because you worked for the  
forces of entropy, hurrying the end of all time. Prepare to  
meet the end of thine existence."  
  
"PLUUUTOO!" It paused for a second, shivering visibly.  
"'Protector' of time. Hah. More like lap dog of the true  
guardians of time. It has been a long time, Pluto. Almost  
four thousand years, hasn't it?" the H'rogth said, spitting  
vile mucous in its anger. "I shall make your last moment be  
an eternity of pain and humiliation."  
  
The other Senshi stared at Pluto in surprise. They had no  
idea that she was so old.  
  
Sailor Pluto raised her staff, and prepared to fight the  
thing on its level, when the pink haired Sailor Moon charged  
the H'rogth from behind.  
  
Usa's hands shook. She didn't want to do this, but she  
remembered what she had been told. Her hands reached into  
subspace, pulling out a two pieces of a staff. She ran low,  
under its eyes, and then leaped up its back. At the top of  
her leap, she slammed the two pieces together while jamming  
it deep into the H'rogth's back.  
  
"TIME STAFF REFORGE!!" she screamed, mind ablaze with the  
convoluted mantras of power. The H'rogth shuddered, and  
started to shrink. Purple lightning crackled over its body,  
being drawn to the staff like moths to a flame. It started  
to let loose a yodeling cry.  
  
Cracks appeared in its shell, glowing brighter by the  
second. With a soundless screech, the H'rogth imploded,  
leaving the pink haired girl standing in its place, holding  
a staff with a key as its adornment.  
  
The group started to relax and talk when a voice brought  
them back to their senses.  
  
"Oh, God. No. No please . . . ." Sailor Pluto mumbled  
slowly. She was as pale as a ghost. She looked as if the  
wind would blow her away any second. She was staring in  
morbid fascination at the pink haired girl in front of her.  
  
-  
  
Tuxedo Kamen leaped from roof to roof, desperation growing  
in his mind. That silly girl had gone and gotten herself in  
trouble again. He stopped across from the cathedral,  
preparing to leap down. All of a sudden a brilliant light  
sprang into existence around the building.  
  
He shielded his eyes. "Sailor Moon!"  
  
-  
  
Sailor Moon gritted her teeth, and reached deeper into her  
soul. The Silver Crystal flashed brilliantly, sending power  
in streams at Wiseman  
  
He seemed to hold it off effortlessly. "I didn't waste my  
time here, 'Sailor Moon'. I've been gathering the energy I  
needed, and enhancing the Black Crystal to make it more than  
equal to your Silver Crystal. Even with its weakness, it is  
a formidable thing," Wiseman said. He hid his concentration  
from the inexperienced girl in front of him. It infuriated  
Serenity when others ignored her. Or belittled her.  
  
Sailor Moon stumbled, the energy flickering for a second.  
Weakness? She regained her resolve sending more energy  
towards the man who had hurt her future daughter.  
  
"Oh, you don't know do you? Your Silver Crystal warps  
reality, granting the effects that you want. That is its  
weakness. Your desires, your wishes." He paused just a  
moment, savoring the moment to its fullest. "Especially your  
desire to leave this madness behind, to be just a normal  
teenage girl. It acts subtly, trying to grant this wish even  
now."  
  
Sailor Moon's eyes widened. Something about this sounded,  
well, right. Hadn't she wished one time that she could live  
as a normal girl? When she was dying, after defeating  
Mettalia.  
  
"That is how I survived, you know. You and that pink haired  
girl where destroying me. I was being spread out across the  
dimensions of space, time and reality. I was striking out  
blindly, pitting my power versus two Silver Crystals. But  
then I struck a resonance, amplifying one of you unconscious  
desires that the Silver Crystal was trying to grant you. It  
saved me, even as I was pushed to this time," Wise  
soliliqued, dragging out the fight.  
  
"So what? You can't do that again," Sailor Moon yelled back.  
  
"Oh? Really?" Wiseman said blandly. He stood up, and laid  
his hands on the Black Crystal. "Then I guess you have  
nothing to fear then, do you?"  
  
Sailor Moon gulped, and tried to catch her breath.  
  
"Black Crystal Rebirth Resurrection!" Wiseman yelled out.  
And white energy flashed out.  
  
Sailor Moon held out her scepter, defending against the  
energy as best as possible. She wasn't sure how long she  
would last though. It almost seemed to feed off of her own  
power.  
  
-  
  
Neo Sailor Moon glanced up suddenly, looking down the street  
suddenly, The staff in her hands disappeared, leaving it  
free for her to grasp a brooch. She leaped forward, blocking  
a glow that suffused the area suddenly. Beads of sweat  
appeared on her forehead.  
  
"What's going on? Who are you?" Sailor Mercury cried out.  
Her computer was out, and scanning.  
  
"Someone… is trying to... alter you. It feels… like they  
are… trying to erase me!" Neo Sailor Moon gasped out.  
  
"Alter us? Like change our memories?" Mercury asked. The  
pink haired girl could only nod. "Sailor Sun, Io, you  
weren't affected because you were in Jadeite's dimension  
right?" Sailor Sun nodded, Io agreeing silently. "That's it  
then, the attack can't penetrate to other dimensions. So we  
should be safe there."  
  
A watch-like device appeared on Sailor Mercury's arm. She  
rapid fire tapped some keys. Almost instantly, a portal  
appeared. "Everyone through. I'll close it as soon as the  
last one is gone!" Sailor Mercury yelled out.  
  
And with that they retreated back into the portal. Neo  
Sailor Moon staggered through at the last just after  
Mercury, and then the portal closed.  
  
-  
  
Sailor Moon groaned. Where were the others? They should have  
been here by now. Her eyes flickered over to Luna, frozen in  
white crystal. That distraction cost her, as white energy  
enclosed her. She screamed silently, mouth open in a rictus  
of pain.  
  
Usagi fell to her knees, gasping for breath. "W-what's  
happening?" She shook her head to try and clear out the  
cobwebs out of her head.  
  
"Are you all right?" a man asked, kneeling next to her.  
  
Usagi nodded numbly. "Who are you? W-where am I?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. You may call me Jeiko. And as for what you  
are doing, I couldn't be certain. My, what a pretty girl you  
are. What is your name?" Wiseman asked.  
  
"Usagi. Usagi Tsukino." Usagi tried to smile, but this man  
unnerved her.  
  
"Usagi. What a pretty name, for a very pretty lady," Wiseman  
said, a wide thin smile on his lips.  
  
Usagi grinned sickly. How come this felt all wrong?  
  
------------------------------------------------------------  
------------------------------------------------------------  
---------  
End Part II  
  
Hmm. I think this one's a bit longer than the first part.  
  
Notes: Small children in the middle ages where not  
considered truly heirs until they had survived for at least  
three years. Chalk it up to the vagaries of a really  
horrendous childhood survival rates. The Middle Ages were  
not kind to young children. This practice was of course  
different from place to place. And when there was no other  
choice, they had to hope that the young child would survive  
to adulthood. Several thrones had their last heir die in  
their childhood. So little Serenity is actually three years  
old when she is presented to the court.  
  
King Hugh Capten is a real king who ascended to his throne  
after being elected to the throne of France in 987 AD, he  
ruled until 996 AD, having brought some modicum of peace to  
France after taking the throne from the other contenders.  



	3. Chapter 3

Black Moon - Eclipse of the Sun  
Part 3  
  
Neo-Sailor Moon looked back and forth, a sickly smile  
plastered to her face. Eleven pairs of eyes watched her  
intently. "Hi!" she said brightly, hoping to forestall the  
inquisition.  
  
Everyone blinked a second and then finally Sailor Mercury  
stepped forward.  
  
"Hello! Is that you, Usagi?" she asked curiously.  
  
Neo-Sailor Moon thought about that for a second. Could she  
have guessed who she was already that quickly? "Sure! It's,  
um, been a while."  
  
Sailor Mercury squinted and then smiled. "For you, maybe.  
It's only been a few weeks since we've seen you."  
  
Sailors Jupiter and Mars looked at each other and then  
expressions of understanding dawned on their faces.  
  
"Wow! Your hairs almost as long as our Usagi's. You really  
do take after your mother, you know that?" Sailor Venus said  
suddenly. A huge silly grin appeared on her face.  
  
Sailor Pluto slowly backed away, trying to get a moment to  
catch her whirling thoughts. Nobody noticed her, as their  
attention was riveted wholly on Usa.  
  
Sailor Sun and Sailor Io looked at each other in  
consternation. Sailor Sun cleared her throat and interrupted  
with, "Um, you know this pink haired 'Sailor Moon'?"  
  
Rei smiled with a knowing smirk, and answered directly back,  
"This is Usagi Chibi. She's Usagi's daughter from the  
future."  
  
Io and Sun glanced at each other and then shrugged. Odd, but  
not that strange. Io asked, "So you're here to help us stop  
what is going on?"  
  
Neo-Sailor Moon's grin turned a bit sickly. "Um, just  
passing through. Sorry." She snapped her wrist in just such  
a way that the Time Staff flickered out of existence.  
  
Mercury narrowed her eyes. That staff had looked very  
familiar. She sneaked a glance around, looking for Sailor  
Pluto. The older woman had stepped away from group and  
seemed to be staring into the distance. That's what I had  
thought, Mercury noted, as she mentally measured 'Usagi's'  
staff versus that one. Something that should be impossible.  
  
"Any ideas on who's causing the problem?" Sailor Mars asked.  
  
Neo-Sailor Moon shook her head. "Mother doesn't talk about  
the past much. Well, when I'm around."  
  
Pluto frowned. Now why did that sound familiar? She snapped  
back her thoughts back to the present. How could that have  
happened? The Time Staff was not just a physical device. It  
was a manifestation of the sub time lock, supposedly nearly  
unbreakable. She had only seen it broken once, when her  
predecessor had been killed by the Council for altering the  
past disastrously. It had taken the power of an entire  
planet to destroy the staff. Repairing it had been a major  
adventure in and of itself.  
  
She swallowed suddenly. Could her first thought have been  
right? Was it possible that at some point in the future, she  
died? Sailor Pluto knew she was as mortal as any other.  
  
Well, any other highly powerful person that didn't age and  
was almost unkillable, anyway, she thought wryly.  
  
Sailor Jupiter scratched her head. "Why not?"  
  
Sailors Neptune and Uranus shrugged at each other in  
exasperation. Boy, didn't this feel familiar!  
  
"Um. That's kind of tough to say. Maybe she didn't want me  
to know about my future. I, uh, do tend to travel back here  
a lot. Tee hee."  
  
Sailor Mercury stepped up. "Why did you have a broken Time  
Staff, Usa?"  
  
A pained expression flitted across her face as her eyes  
darted to the side, in the direction of Sailor Pluto. "I...  
can't say. I'm sorry."  
  
"Wow! You sound like you're a Guardian of Time!" Venus said  
blithely. She glanced around, realizing that everyone was  
staring at her. "Um. What did I say wrong this time?"  
  
Sailor Mercury stared at her friend in consternation. How  
could she make those leaps of intuition and then not realize  
the importance of what she said? She turned back to Neo-  
Sailor Moon just in time to see the girl materialize 'her'  
Time Staff and start to spin it. "Wait! Stop!" Sailor  
Mercury yelled out.  
  
Sailors Sun and Io hadn't been following much of the  
conversation up until this point, but they were still the  
fastest Senshi around. They blurred into motion, following  
Sailor Mercury's barely stated command. Sailor Sun started  
to twist the staff out of her hand while Sailor Io tried to  
put her in an arm-lock.  
  
With a flash of scintillating light the three figures  
disappeared.  
  
Sailor Pluto hardened her resolve suddenly. She stepped up  
to where the three had disappeared. Then she made a slashing  
motion with her staff, opening another portal to follow Neo-  
Sailor Moon. A ragged tear appeared in the air, brilliant  
and white.  
  
It sealed itself almost instantly.  
  
Icy terror gripped her heart. That shouldn't have happened!  
  
Two more slashes and two more tears in the air healed  
themselves. She raised her arm for a third time, when a hand  
gripped her wrist. "You're being blocked from following. You  
don't have enough energy to break through here." Sailor  
Mercury's serious eyes stared into Sailor Pluto's through  
her visor.  
  
Sailor Pluto drew herself up, back rigid. She opened her  
mouth, when a hand was laid on her opposite shoulder. "We  
just don't have the time to deal with what happened. We have  
to save the princess. And we're down two already." Sailor  
Mars held a warm continence, trying to soothe the obviously  
troubled older woman.  
  
"You are correct. Thank you for reminding me of my duty."  
Sailor Pluto's stiff facade was up in place, hiding her  
inner terror that she felt.  
  
Sailor Mars held her gaze for a moment. Finally she turned  
away. "We'll need someplace to stay while we plan our  
counter attack. I suggest that we take over Jadeite's  
fortress. "  
  
Heads nodded in unison. "That's a good idea. We need to  
regroup and rest for a while."  
  
Sailor Saturn had walked slightly away from the group.  
Shading her eyes, she took in a glint of metal in the  
distance. "I think it's that way," she said pointing towards  
the sparkle.  
  
And with that the Senshi started to walk towards the sight  
of one of their greatest victories.  
  
-  
  
A shadow watched an area of Tokyo that looked like a war  
zone. Cars were overturned, fires burned in the background  
and people were starting to filter back to fight the  
devastation. Sirens arose in the distance, fire trucks  
weaving through traffic. Police hustled people away from the  
danger while trying to check for possible problems and  
stragglers.  
  
Konatsu frowned under his mask. He leapt to the roof of one  
of the more intact buildings. His feminine form garbed in  
the blackness that blended into the smoky air. A heritage  
modified by his upbringing by his 'family'.  
  
It had been mere happenstance that he had run into Ranma and  
Akane before this fight broke out. What he had seen then had  
been... different. It was time to go and report back to  
Nabiki and Ukyo. She would be horribly upset that he had  
left her behind to go 'sneaking'.  
  
Soon he was bouncing from roof to roof, eating the distance  
back to Nerima at an incredible speed. Panting from  
exhaustion, he dragged himself that last bit into the Uchan.  
  
Ukyo turned at the ringing that heralded another customer.  
Surprise showed across her face at the weary figure who  
staggered into the room. "Ukyo... I think... you had  
better... call Nabiki," Konatsu huffed and puffed daintily  
in between words.  
  
"Uh, sure. What's up?" Ukyo glared at him in sudden  
suspicion. Even from that far, she could smell smoke  
clinging to the mussed up ninja.  
  
"I think I know what Ranma and Akane are up too. I really  
don't want to tell it twice," Or even once, Konatsu amended  
silently.  
  
"You jerk! You snuck off and went behind my back to spy on  
my Ranma honey!" Ukyo's arm moved automatically, sweeping  
out her combat spatula and pan-caking the startled cross  
dressing ninja upside down and to the wall, hands warding  
off evil and punishment.  
  
One of her patrons had slipped just out of the way, nodding  
her head appreciatively. She snapped out a card that read  
'8.5'. "Not bad."  
  
Ukyo was prepared to deliver a sound beating, when she  
realized that Konatsu was out like a light. She silently  
managed to get a grip on her temper, chanting under her  
breath, "I am not that gorilla that beats up Ranma. I'm not,  
I'm not, I'm not. I'm the cute fiancee."  
  
With a sniff, she put her weapon of choice back and picked  
up the phone.  
  
-  
  
Nabiki arched her eyebrow at the new art hanging on the wall  
of the Uchan. "Well, well. Let me guess. He snuck off  
without you?" She glided over to a corner seat near the  
unconscious ninja.  
  
"Yes, he did! I don't know what he was thinking!"  
  
"I was thinking that Ranma wouldn't spot me," Konatsu said  
as he flipped his feminine form over into the seat next to  
Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki suddenly grinned. "Playing possum?"  
  
"Some thing like that. A ninja is trained to know when to  
pick a fight and when to forestall one."  
  
Nabiki blinked in surprise. She was sure that she'd only  
taken her eyes off of Konatsu for just a second. How had he  
managed to switch to a women's kimono and wrap? It usually  
took her ten minutes to get hers right. It was quite  
irritating that 'he' looked so feminine.  
  
She shrugged it off. "Ok, Konatsu. Why didn't you take Ukyo  
with you? That was the plan."  
  
"I wish to say nothing of Miss Ukyo's skill. She is a  
marvelous cook and a great martial artist, but..." Konatsu  
looked uncomfortable for a second. "Miss Ukyo needs to be a  
bit sneakier."  
  
Ukyo stared flatly at Konatsu. "I'm not that bad."  
  
"I am trained to sneak up on just about anyone. I almost  
wasn't able to follow Ranma today. One time, when I was idly  
considering the fact that Ranma had accidentally left his  
back open for a second, he moved to counter any attack and  
started to search around for me."  
  
"So? He's got a good sense for danger. Ranma's kind of got  
to, you know." Nabiki smirked. Ranma was always getting into  
so many fights, it was a survival trait.  
  
Konatsu tried to say something. He snapped his mouth shut  
and then finally spoke up, "Ranma is usually not so...  
prepared." He shrugged and put his small hands on his lap.  
  
Ukyo frowned. "You're right. Ranma isn't usually that hyper-  
sensitive."  
  
Konatsu ducked her head in embarrassment. "I sometimes use  
my skills to 'follow' the local martial artists around when  
they're in public. It's amazingly good training." His  
girlish smile hardened slightly. "I will figure out a way to  
shadow Happosai or Cologne some time." He shook his head to  
clear it of distractions. "Like I said, I follow different  
people around. Akane and Kodachi are fairly easy. Kuno is  
truly oblivious. Miss Ukyo is fairly aware of her  
surroundings, but is not up to the skill of Ranma and Ryoga.  
I still get caught sometimes by Mr. Saotome. He thinks it is  
good training!"  
  
"Genma? Heck, even Ukyo blindsided him one time," Nabiki  
said blithely.  
  
Ukyo shared her disapproval of Nabiki with a look.  
  
Konatsu coughed politely. "Please? I was fairly adept at  
shadowing Ranma a week ago. It really wasn't a challenge any  
more." His face scrunched into a cute girlish pout. "Today  
was a far different story for both Ranma and Akane. They  
didn't let it show very much, but they were almost always  
aware of what is going around them. As if they expected an  
attack at any moment. I was almost spotted a half dozen  
times in a half an hour. Two of those times were almost by  
Akane!"  
  
"Hmm? Paranoia?"  
  
"Considering what I saw? Not... paranoia. They really could  
be attacked at any time."  
  
"All right, Konatsu. Spit it out. What trouble has Ranma  
gotten Akane involved in?" Nabiki started to think of some  
manner to repay Ranma for the problems he brought her  
family.  
  
"You're not going to believe me." Konatsu wilted under the  
two girls gaze.  
  
"Let us decided that, Sugar."  
  
"Um, would you believe they're both magical girls fighting  
to defend our world against monsters?" Konatsu said  
tentatively.  
  
Ukyo and Nabiki blinked. Ukyo roared out suddenly in  
laughter. "That's a good one, Konatsu. Ranma in one of those  
miniskirts? BWAHAHAHA!"  
  
Nabiki sighed and massaged her forehead. Here she thought  
Konatsu was one of the more level headed people that Ranma  
dragged into their lives.Weird, but sane. "Ranma wouldn't be  
caught dead with that sort of getup in public."  
  
Konatsu plucked up his courage. "That's what really  
happened. He, well she, was there with most of the other  
magical girls fighting some horrid monster. Their fight  
destroyed several blocks of Jubban's shopping district."  
  
Ukyo finally quit laughing. She made a production of getting  
out her small black and white TV and turning it on to a  
local station that usually had the news on. She was dragged  
away a moment later, as some customers walked in wanting  
service.  
  
Nabiki watched the set for a few minutes as they played the  
top story of the hour. Her frown grew longer she watched it.  
Pictures of the destroyed area were displayed. Amazingly  
enough, no one had more than minor injuries. Nabiki  
catalogued the different types of destruction that was being  
blamed on 'rioting' and some sort of explosion.  
  
She was having a hard time breaking her skepticism, though.  
It was just too wild, even for Ranma. "I don't know. I just  
can't believe that Ranma would do something... so girlish.  
Not with his mother and her katana around. Just for the sake  
of the argument, let's just pretend that I believe you. Were  
there really that many 'Sailor Senshi' there?"  
  
"Oh! Yes! There were all of them, Inner and Outer Senshi,  
except Sailor Moon and Little Sailor Moon!" Konatsu said  
excitedly. "And of course Ranma and Akane were two new ones  
that I didn't recognize! And another new one who was very  
similar to Sailor Moon, except her hair was pink!"  
  
Nabiki blink-blinked. "Um. You know all that?" Nabiki didn't  
even know that many.  
  
"Well, not obviously all, but I am a member of the Sailor  
Senshi Official Fan Club! Member number eight thousand and  
thirty-two! Tee hee!" Konatsu said girlishly as she flashed  
a 'V' for victory hand sign. He covered his mouth politely  
to cover up his outburst.  
  
This week was just getting weirder and weirder, Nabiki  
thought to herself.  
  
Ukyo managed to free herself from her work for a second.  
"So, what's the verdict?"  
  
Nabiki let her displeasure show. "We might not be able to  
discount what Konatsu just said." She gestured at the TV,  
letting Ukyo watch if for a second. "Ranma's destructive,  
but not quite that bad."  
  
Ukyo nodded slowly, as her world became less certain. "So  
where does that leave us?"  
  
Nabiki cocked her head slightly in Ukyo's direction. "Now  
that is a good question." Thoughts rumbled and caromed  
around in her mind.  
  
"I wonder if I can get their autographs? It going to be such  
fun to have friends that are actually some of the Pretty  
Suited Sailors that fights for Love and Justice!" Konatsu  
sighed dreamily.  
  
The two girls exchanged looks of consternation as sweat  
drops appeared on their brow.  
  
-  
  
The air rippled and churned, distorting and bending the  
center of a circular room filled with incredible technology  
and arcane artifacts. Suddenly a rainbow of light burst into  
radiant existence, dropping three figures into the room.  
  
"Get off of me!" Neo-Sailor Moon yelled at the two Sailor  
Senshi.  
  
"I'm getting off!"  
  
"Ranma, watch your hands!" Sailor Io decided that she had  
had enough of this and snapped a kick at Sailor Sun's  
stomach, launching her into the air while knocking the air  
out of her. It was a moments work to free herself then.  
  
"Great. Just great. Do you realize the mess that you've  
caused?" the pink haired girl said loudly, getting in Io's  
face.  
  
Io shrank back a bit. "Um? No."  
  
"Hey, watch it! Back off!" Sailor Sun had managed to get to  
her feet. Her face showed her intense displeasure at how  
Sailor Moon was treating her wife.  
  
"Do you realize the potential for disaster that bringing you  
into the future could cause?" Neo-Sailor Moon started to  
breath deeply and counted to herself to twenty-five, in  
Latin and backwards. Calm. Calm was good.  
  
Sun was about to reply when a door opened, admitting an  
older women in a flimsy gown, wings moving automatically to  
pass through the door. "Usa! I thought you said they  
wouldn't be able to lock on to this location? We've got  
visitors are on their way!" She stopped, taking in the three  
figures that stood in the room.  
  
"I wouldn't have, if these hitchhikers hadn't tagged along,  
Ami." Sailor Moon, because that was what she truly was, at  
this now, thought fast and furiously. She reached out to a  
keypad that appeared in the air, typing a bunch of commands.  
Items disappeared in a dizzying manner. Soon they were the  
only things in the large cavernous room.  
  
And not a moment too soon! With a suddenness that was  
shocking four figures appeared, spider-like and very  
familiar. Large figures, spider-humanoid but with eight  
limbs, encased in darkly opalescent chitin.  
  
Sailors Sun and Io shifted to a ready stance. They had had  
the rest of the Senshi backing them up last time with just  
one! How where they going to defeat four of them?  
  
"Mercury, Sun, Io, hold them off for a minute!" Sailor Moon  
shouted snatching the Time Staff off of the ground.  
  
Sailor Sun gritted her teeth. There had to be something more  
they could do! Io just grinned feraly.  
  
Eternal Mercury raised her hand, blasting at the creatures  
with some sort of spiraling bubble attack. Io and Sun were  
shocked when one of the creatures was almost destroyed by  
the single attack. This was Ami?  
  
Sun leaped into the air, blasting at the lead creature. It  
weaved and ducked most of the attack, it's form blurring. It  
appeared behind Sailor Sun, smashing her to the ground.  
Sailor Io flipped over the one that tried to emulate its  
mate, pummeling it across the back. It staggered but then  
flickered again. Io had just a moment to roll with the  
stunning attack, bouncing off of the wall and shattering  
shelves as she made a large impression in it.  
  
Eternal Mercury was doing her best, but one of the creatures  
was heading towards the pink haired Sailor Moon. That  
distraction was enough, as she was struck into the air  
herself. She slid to the ground unconscious after leaving a  
sizable dent in the metal sheathed wall, blood seeping out  
of her mouth.  
  
"Oh, crud!" Sailor Sun thought as fast and furiously as she  
ever had before. Inspiration struck suddenly. "Light Speed  
Transport revised! Light Speed Attack Flurry!" she cried  
out, her power glowing around her. The fight seemed to slow,  
motions became muted as if everyone had become statues. All  
of the light shifted red in her eyes, dimming the room.  
  
Sailor Sun frowned and leaped onto the back of one the  
creatures, smashing it with hundreds of blows as her  
movements shifted the light around her upwards into the blue-  
white frequencies. A wave of nausea struck her suddenly,  
almost causing her to lose her concentration and her power.  
Grimly wiping the sheen of sweat off of her brow, she went  
to the second and the third one as fast as she could. She  
smashed them with the same results, forcing herself to  
ignore the nausea and bile that arose within her with each  
weakening punch. Pieces of the three H'ragoth were barely  
falling when the last one seemed to animate itself to sudden  
action.  
  
Sailor Sun found that even weakened by Mercury, this one was  
almost a match for her at this intensely insane pace.  
Grueling minutes passed as the two combatants traded blows.  
The end came with surprising swiftness, as the last monster,  
from a time past, disintegrated under it own power. It had  
used far too much of itself to counter the Senshi of the  
Sun's sudden increase in speed.  
  
Sailor Io blinked in surprise as three of the monsters just  
shredded in mid air. The room filled with a blinding  
radiance for just a moment, obscuring the last one and then  
Sailor Sun appeared in front of her. She was hurt and  
bleeding from numerous wounds, her skin pale and haggard.  
She appeared as if she hadn't eaten in days, her skin  
hanging from her bony body.  
  
"Ranma!" Sailor Io cried out, catching her love as she  
collapsed.  
  
"Hmm. Guess I don't have to do what I was planning. That was  
impressive." Seeing as the threat was destroyed, Sailor Moon  
reverted to her normal garb of sensible slacks and nice  
pastel blue blouse.  
  
"We've got to get her to Saturn! She'll be able to help!"  
Akane cried out.  
  
"She's busy." Usa walked over and started to wake up the  
fallen Senshi of Mercury.  
  
"What! Ranma could be dying! Why can't she come and help!"  
  
"She's trying to defend her world. And losing."  
  
-  
  
Their first sign of any problem was when Sailor Pluto  
reverted back to her merely mortal self. Setsuna blinked in  
surprise. "W-what?" She stopped on the hike to Jadeite's  
fortress suddenly, looking at her hands in confusion as she  
expected to see her gloves.  
  
Sailor Neptune stared for just a second. "Mercury, Mars. I  
think we might have a problem."  
  
Sailor Saturn looked on worriedly.  
  
Sailor Mars looked back in annoyance. Everyone's attention  
was riveted on Setsuna, as she stood still in her woman's  
business suit.  
  
Mercury frowned. A tap of her finger on her brow brought up  
the scanner, its blue field shimmered into existence over  
her eyes. She glanced quickly at the oldest Senshi. A quick  
scan of the area revealed the problem almost at once. "This  
isn't like last time we were here. We are very drained from  
that fight with the... thing. I wouldn't be surprised if  
Mars, Venus or Jupiter reverts pretty soon." As if her words  
were a cue, Jupiter reverted to plain old Makato.  
  
"Eeep! This isn't so good. Didn't you guys clean up a whole  
bunch of youma last time you were here?" Makato said  
nervously, glancing around.  
  
"Yes. Those should have been the last ones. Let's be on our  
guard anyways. Just to be on the safe side." Sailor Mars  
tried to put her best face forward. She didn't relish the  
idea of taking on even one youma while they were basically  
defenseless.  
  
With that, they resumed the march at a quicker pace. In the  
distance, the sun of this realm started to set on the spires  
of Jadeite's fortress. Soon they were passing among  
shattered, windswept ruins. Empty doorways and led to broken  
and gutted buildings, the only legacy of one of the greatest  
threats that they had ever faced.  
  
Fingers danced on glowing crystal buttons, opening the  
mammoth arcane-marked metal doors. The Senshi, mostly in  
their mortal guises, walked nervously into the abandoned  
fortress. The golden hawk flew above them silently.  
  
"It looks a lot more scary this time," Hotaru said, glancing  
nervously around at the darkened corridors.  
  
Minako bobbed her head frantically. "Yeah. That's what I  
thought!"  
  
Makato stopped herself from bopping the ditzy blond for  
trying to scare all of them, as the hairs on her neck  
bristled. She started to look around, trying to spot the  
danger.  
  
Sailors Neptune and Uranus slowly eased themselves back to  
back, pulling Sailor Saturn close to them.  
  
Rei, Minako and Makato backed up into a small knot, all of  
them looking outwards. Sailor Mercury's visor flashed into  
existence, scanning the area.  
  
Setsuna looked around numbly, gripping her staff in white-  
knuckled fear. She seemed moderately disinterested in her  
surroundings. As if they weren't important or relevant.  
  
All of them jumped as the squeal of metal on metal that  
started up suddenly. Slowly, ponderously, the massive doors  
closed with a jarring clang, setting all of them on edge.  
  
The silence was deafening, cloying. The blackness engulfed  
them in a mind numbing wave. They caught their breath for  
just a second.  
  
The sound of electrical solenoids humming and banging into  
new positions gave them just a moments warning before dim  
red lights flicked on.  
  
"Must be on emergency power. But Sailor Sun took the extra  
time to charge some of the incidental systems," Sailor  
Mercury muttered to herself. Her gaze, amplified by her  
visor, searched the hallways left, right and ahead for  
anything out of the ordinary.  
  
Rei clenched her fist. "Let's move. We need to rest and to  
think of some way to stop this latest menace."  
  
Makato nodded her agreement, while Minako looked over to  
Sailor Mercury in hope. A frown of concentration was all  
that was on that ones face, plans being made and discarded  
as she walked down the hallway towards Jadeite's main living  
and work area.  
  
Behind them, a shadow disconnected itself from the ceiling,  
from between two pipes. Glowing red eyes glared at the  
Sailor Senshi. Its eyes narrowed in thought as it turned  
back to the door. Its massive claws slowly, silently twisted  
the metal of the controls into a gaping hole. His hands  
reached in and played with the wires for a second.  
  
Crouching low, its head only six feet high, it ambled down  
the left hallway on all fours. There were other things that  
needed to be done. Soon it would have all the food it would  
need or want.  
  
And its revenge!  
  
-  
  
Sailor Sun looked and felt much better after being given a  
feast to devour. She still looked ragged but at least her  
pallor and health were no longer in question. The wondrous  
magic that infused her combined with rigorous training was  
already filling her form back out.  
  
Sailors Sun and Io looked around the large room they had  
been just led in to. The large doors closed behind them,  
sealing them into the large circular room. Pillars and  
arches lined the walls. Crystal seemed to be the preferred  
material, for some reason. A large pool of water in a  
fountain was centered in the room. Floating in the air above  
the pool was an odd depiction of space and some sort of  
nebulae.  
  
Their gazes were drawn back to the figures standing around,  
watching the floating image. Like Ami they wore gauzy gowns,  
rather than their skirts of old. Each one had an unreal  
ethereal grace. Still, they were easily recognizable.  
Mercury joined Venus, Jupiter and Mars in watching their  
King and Queen.  
  
Queen Serenity looked over at the newcomers with warmth and  
kindness. Her face turned back to the display. "Saturn seems  
to be holding her own, with Uranus and Neptune's help." The  
view in space shifted, showing the planet Saturn floating in  
blackness. Its rings radiated a glowing ripple that traveled  
out and then back in. Suddenly, a blinding light flashed  
from just above the rings, traveling outwards and striking  
as a sparkling cloud that had been approaching the planet.  
The cloud seemed to ripple and tear, partially fragmenting.  
  
The beam faded away, and the cloud slowly reformed, only to  
be struck by an incredibly bright, yellow beam that bisected  
the cloud, burning parts of it for a second. "The Solaris!  
He must have been able to break away from the attacks  
against Neptune and Uranus."  
  
The view switched back to the first picture, which showed  
the nebulae again. The cloud-like dust had hidden something  
in their midst, but parted to give them a better view. The  
view zoomed closer, showing shattered asteroids. The size  
was hard to tell, but they appeared to be miles in length.  
Something spherical glinted within it.  
  
Queen Serenity bowed her head for a moment. "You were right,  
Usagi. Pluto is no more." She inhaled deeply, steeling her  
nerves. "How long until they breach the casing of the Gate  
to Time?"  
  
"It's built to withstand just about any physical attack. But  
the Chronovores are not merely physical attacking. They are  
literally aging it millions of years per minute. In just a  
few hours, it will fail and give them access to the heart of  
the Gate," the pink haired girl said quietly. "Not only does  
it weaken the Gate's defenses, it also gives them an almost  
unlimited source of temporal energy and to all time itself.  
Their numbers are already staggering and easily renewed."  
  
The view zoomed closer and closer in, showing glimpses of a  
gigantic artifact, round with strange and glowing runes  
carved within it. Its surface had something on it that  
flowed in waves across it in unsymmetrical patterns.  
  
The view shifted a final time, showing that the waves were  
made of thousands, no millions of the strange creatures that  
they had just fought, swarming across the surface, being  
struck again and again by multicolored lightning. The  
Chronovores fought to break the energies and skin of the  
remains of Pluto with a fanaticism that was unbelievable.  
  
"So, all is lost? I can not accept this. We had our future  
of peace finally," Serenity said sadly, looking over at  
Endymion.  
  
"If we just had more time! We could build a better time lock  
now. They would be easy to defeat then," the young looking  
princess said. "But it's going to take years and most of our  
resources. We're just out of time."  
  
Io and Sun exchanged uneasy glances. This didn't sound so  
good. The images were unnerving them.  
  
Queen Serenity waved her hand, causing the view to shift to  
encompass the entire solar system. A ragged halo surrounded  
it, slowly filling out. "We may not have even hours. Their  
strategy seems too simple and far too insane. Surround and  
destroy us utterly, no matter the losses. Ami calculates  
that in another ten hours, then they will be in position to  
attack Uranus and Neptune in numbers. The Solaris won't be  
able to hold them off for long then."  
  
"And how are you holding out, Mother?" Worried eyes followed  
the young queen.  
  
"I will be able to maintain the teleportation blanket for  
quite a while yet." Serenity walked over to put her hand on  
her king's shoulder, both of them lost in thought for a  
moment.  
  
The door slid open silently, admitting a new presence into  
the room. Sailor Sun glanced over and back, then snapped her  
gaze at the figure. "A-Akane?" she stuttered.  
  
The newest person was also dressed in a flowing white gown  
of medieval flavor, as were most of the women. Sailor Io  
stopped, taking in the two younger figures standing before  
her. "Oh. I guess we're almost out of time then." Her gaze  
darted between the two and then finally tore itself away to  
land on her liege's visage. Her eyes unfocussed, as her face  
became void of all emotions. "I-I have a message for you,  
your majesty. I am to tell you that now the Staff has been...  
procured, that now you must seek to unlock Solitude."  
  
Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Mars all jumped in surprise.  
They glanced at each other and then back at the messenger.  
  
Mercury finally spoke up, "Solitude? Who told you that?"  
  
Io looked uncomfortable, but responded without further  
prodding. "The Guardian of Time." That was all she could  
remember.  
  
"But Pluto was killed when her planet was destroyed!" Venus  
exclaimed.  
  
"Well, the Guardian of Time can time travel." Io shook her  
head in frustration. Why couldn't she remember this time in  
her past?  
  
Sailor Sun smacked her fist into her open palm. "Count us  
in! We gotta help, Akane!"  
  
"I don't know, Ranma. This is kind of spooky." Sailor Io bit  
her lower lip for a second. "But you're right. We have to  
help."  
  
Usagi shivered, as she felt a dead hand pushing her towards  
unfathomable actions. She looked over at the older Io and  
asked, "Are they supposed to go?"  
  
Io tore her gaze away from the younger Sailor Sun. "I can't  
say. I'm sorry. I can't even really remember. Maybe?" Her  
voice choked off. It wasn't supposed to hurt anymore. It had  
been so long. Why the pain again?  
  
"Well, that's three of us to go on this hare-brained  
scheme." Usagi turned towards the Inner Senshi.  
  
A gently raised hand stopped her as surely as a shouted  
command. "They must stay here. I am sorry, but you will have  
to go without them." The Queen's voice caught and nearly  
broke. "Go safely and return quickly."  
  
Usagi gaped for a second. She finally found her voice. "Yes,  
Mother."  
  
The elder Io looked at Sailor Sun for a second. Something  
seemed to click internally. "I have something for you, too.  
She said that you would need your blade. The one that you  
left at the graveyard of the Moon's Guardian Fleet." Her  
gaze jerked away suddenly, as she became intent on the view  
above the waters.  
  
"Huh?" Sailor Sun scratched her head for a second. "Oh.  
Yeah! Hey, Ami? Can I have you look for something at about a  
million miles out from the sun on the elliptic plane? It  
aught to have an energy signature of... Ah, it would be  
easier to show it, I think." At Mercury's nod, a small glow  
grew in her palm.  
  
Mercury's hands played across a shimmering control panel  
that appeared in the air for a few moments. She blinked in  
surprise and then nodded charmingly. "I have it."  
  
Sailor Sun had been reading over her shoulder, bouncing  
slightly. A neat trick, considering that she was a bit  
shorter than Mercury at this point. "Thanks! That's an  
amplifier, battery and control device all in one. It'll help  
a lot. 'specially if I get into another tussle with these  
things. Be right back!"  
  
Before anyone could argue, she disappeared in a flash.  
  
"Your Majesty, may I have your leave?" Io asked, bowing  
slightly. "I should return to my moon to prepare its  
defenses to help with Jupiter's own readiness." Her voice  
seemed strained, as if too great of a weight was upon her.  
  
"Of course. Venus, Mars? I think that you should go there  
with Jupiter, too. Mercury is going to be needed here for  
strategies." The Queen stood at the end of her speech, a sad  
frown etched on her as she looked on the elder Io. Everyone  
nodded to her respectfully.  
  
The older people left the room, leaving just Sailor Io and  
Princess Usagi sitting in uncomfortable silence. The  
princess turned to use a computer console that floated  
transparently next to her. Io wandered for a while, before  
sitting next to the fountain as it burbled.  
  
Akane looked over to the pink haired girl. She received a  
glare that stalled any attempt at starting a conversation.  
She was left struggling with the concept that she was really  
in the future. It seemed so bleak and unfriendly. Was this  
all that was waiting for her?  
  
-  
  
Sailor Sun appeared in space, a glowing golden corona  
protecting her from the void. In front of her, floating in  
space was her sword. Unbidden, words from a simple  
attraction spell pulled it towards her waiting grasp. She  
hefted its grip, testing the balance of the one handed  
weapon. Its Celtic knot work still stood out, three gems  
gleamed dully in the hilt.  
  
Her thumb wiped at the some of the grime that clung to the  
silver blade. Without thinking, she sent a burst of energy  
through it, cleaning it as if it were new. With old senses  
awakened anew, she probed its essence. It literally seethed  
with energies.  
  
"Hm. I guess it's been absorbing energy for... over two  
thousand years. That'll be handy." She twirled it and then  
snapped it into sub-space. Her gaze was pulled to the  
floating droplets of metal that glowed dimly from the heat.  
  
She shuddered as she realized that this was all that was  
left of that fleet. How many people had she killed? Suddenly  
feeling uncomfortable, she disappeared in another flash of  
light.  
  
-  
  
Sailor Sun flashed into existence into the same room that  
she had left. Two angry glares met her, wilting her mood a  
bit more. "Ah, ready to go?" she asked spryly, trying to  
break the dark mood.  
  
"Yes. You know, we could have teleported out faster than  
that light beam thingy you do," Princess Usagi said crossly.  
With a snap of her fingers, she transformed into 'Sailor  
Moon'.  
  
"Sorry! It's easy for me to do it, so I did it!" Sun  
explained, hands raised to hold off a verbal lashing.  
  
"That almost made sense, Ranma," Sailor Io said dryly.  
  
"We don't have any more time to waste. Ready?" Two nods  
answered her. With a gesture, she opened a familiar portal  
  
They stepped through into an open field of grass, a  
glittering mountain of metal loomed overhead, disappearing  
into a crater that was easily a mile wide.  
  
"What the hell? Where did this come from?" Sailor Sun  
exclaimed, eyes wide in surprise.  
  
Sailor Io looked around, trying to see something that she  
could recognize. Behind them she could see the dark metal  
spires of Jadeite's fortress, sticking out of a forest of  
ferns far off in the distance. "Ranma! That used to be where  
our cave was!"  
  
"Welcome to Solitude and one of the biggest mysteries of the  
last millennium!"  
  
-  
  
Sailor Mercury tried to turn on some of the equipment that  
had worked the last time they were here. "I don't  
understand. Sailor Sun charged all this up," she said, a  
confused expression stuck on her face. She banged the  
console, trying to get it respond.  
  
Sailor Neptune peeked out from behind a large mass of pipes  
and machinery. "I think you might want to look at this!" she  
called out.  
  
Mercury trotted over to where the green-haired Senshi was  
kneeling. She held an odd collection of wires and crystals  
formed a hideous mask that was wired into the conduits.  
"What do you think?" Neptune asked.  
  
Sailor Mercury carefully poked and prodded at the wires and  
circuit boards. The look of worry grew even deeper on her  
face. "This could be used to siphon off the energy that was  
stored. I would guess that it was some sort of youma that...  
fed."  
  
"No biggy. We find it and squish it. Problem solved," Sailor  
Uranus said suddenly from behind them, a grim smile on her  
face. She fingered her sword expectantly.  
  
"This one looks pretty smart. It knows the area a lot better  
than us. It could hunt us, not the other way around."  
  
The sound of crashing metal shook the entire building  
slightly. The three sailors looked at each other and dashed  
off down the hallway, passing the rest of the gang that were  
standing up in surprise from where they had been waiting.  
  
Moments later, they were running down a familiar corridor  
that they had used to enter so long ago. They skidded to a  
halt just before slamming into a wall of metal wreckage.  
Sailor Neptune cautiously nudged the debris and quickly  
danced backwards to avoid being crushed.  
  
"Don't bother! You'll waste the last of your energy and  
leave yourself helpless!" Mercury cried out.  
  
Sailor Neptune snapped a quick glance at her and nodded.  
"Right! So now what?"  
  
"I saw something move back down the corridor! Back the way  
we came!" Uranus cried out.  
  
Their hearts almost stopped as they looked at each other and  
then they ran down the corridor as fast as possible, towards  
their almost helpless friends. By the time they got back,  
they heard the tail end of a fight. By the time they got  
there, they found Sailor Saturn sprawled out and trying to  
get to her feet. Minako, Makato and Rei were all missing.  
Chizuko cawed weakly, folding up her wings and rolling to  
her feet while Setsuna grimaced in pain from a cut on her  
arm. She used the Time Staff to lever herself to her feet.  
  
"Damn. He moved fast," Uranus said quietly. She watched over  
the area carefully. "This place is a maze. He could be  
anywhere!"  
  
"We need to draw him out. Follow me!" Mercury said, trotting  
down the corridor.  
  
The rest followed quickly through the winding passages,  
their breaths short and harried. Soon the large doors they  
had entered in just a short while ago loomed above them.  
  
Mercury stopped and cursed profusely. "He's already smashed  
the controls!" She reached out to see about jury-rigging it  
to open, being careful to not touch any of the wires. Her  
forearm barely touched the edge of the hole when she jerked  
as thousands of volts through and around her. It lasted only  
a moment and then lights flickered as she dropped to the  
ground.  
  
"Mercury!" Sailor Neptune called out as the dark haired girl  
collapsed to the ground, reverting to plain old Ami Mizuno.  
She checked her quickly for a pulse, finding it erratic and  
weak.  
  
Sailor Uranus snarled and then yelled out, "World Shaking!"  
while pointing her hand at the imposing door.  
  
The remains of the door exploded outwards, pieces flying as  
far as three hundred feet. Four figures jogged through the  
remains of the open door.  
  
Haruka cried out, "Keep moving! I'll slow it down so it  
can't follow!" She spun around, her sword leaving an arcing  
flash of light behind it. She felt slow and weak, merely  
mortal. Fear coiled tightly around her heart.  
  
Sailor Neptune stopped for just a second, agony etched on  
her face. "I can't leave her," she said finally.  
  
"But Momma!" Sailor Saturn called out beseechingly.  
  
She handed the unconscious girl to Setsuna. "Don't worry  
honey, we'll be fine. Setsuna, take Ami and Hotaru away and  
hide. We'll stop it and catch up as soon as possible,"  
Sailor Neptune called out heading back to stand by her love.  
  
Setsuna stared after her friends and companions for a  
moment. She shook her head in frustration. She hated feeling  
so weak. "Come along, Hotaru. I need your help to carry  
Ami."  
  
Sailor Saturn looked as if she was about to argue, but  
finally caved in. Taking most of the burden upon herself,  
they set off into the hills.  
  
-  
  
Haruka prepared to sell her life dearly. Sweat oozed down  
her brow and back. Her fingers held her sword painfully  
tight, until she consciously relaxed. Her feat shifted  
slightly as her knees bent. Shadowed eyes watched the dark  
hiding areas, waiting for the youma.  
  
A soft crunch behind her sent her spinning to try and cut  
her unknown attacker. Sailor Neptune hoped back two steps,  
luckily avoiding the lethal attack.  
  
Haruka glared at her. What was she doing here? "I thought  
you were going to protect Hotaru and Setsuna?" she barked  
out.  
  
"And who's going to protect you?" Sailor Neptune said  
evenly, trying to hide her frustration at her lover's 'macho-  
ness'.  
  
"I'm going to stop it from following you."  
  
"And let it kill you? Over my dead body!" Sailor Neptune set  
a determined appearance on her face. "I... I couldn't leave  
you. It would hurt too much. After all we've been through, I  
couldn't bear to lose you. I'd rather die."  
  
"And what about Hotaru?" Haruka said loudly.  
  
Sailor Neptune turned her pained face away. "She's like a  
daughter, but you're my lover. She's stronger than you right  
now. She might be able to defend Setsuna and Ami better than  
me. But all you have is your sword."  
  
"She just a child!" Haruka shouted.  
  
"She's a Sailor Senshi, if you haven't forgotten! We're  
protectors of the weak and defenders of innocence. Hotaru's  
just as much a warrior as you!" Sailor Neptune turned back  
towards the angry blond woman.  
  
Haruka opened her mouth to continue arguing when Neptune  
grabbed her in a desperate hug, kissing her silent. After a  
moment, she released Haruka. "I'd rather die than see that  
thing take you too. So no more talk of me leaving."  
  
Haruka nodded finally. Her look was discontented, but  
determined. "I guess."  
  
They separated, watching for the thing to leave Jadeite's  
palace. Time drifted by for an hour, as shadows grew longer.  
They spoke nothing, merely let the others presence  
strengthen them.  
  
Warrior instincts homed in a time far past, sent Haruka  
diving as a large rock flew through the place where her head  
had been. The dive turned into a roll that flipped her to  
her feat as she charged the lanky youma.  
  
It was a thing of nightmares, myriads of scar covered its  
body. Its movements were shockingly fast and jerky, as it  
sidestepped the vicious stab of the Space Blaster Sword. Its  
glowing red eyes narrowed. It remembered what Jadeite had  
told it so long ago.  
  
Certain of the Senshi had deeper attachments to others in  
their group. This blond girl was obviously Sailor Uranus.  
The same Sailor Uranus that went out of her way to defend  
Sailor Neptune. Ashkall was a survivor, if not a leader. But  
even so, not being in the youma village had saved his  
existence. And now he was ascendant.  
  
Small cuts appeared on his arms as he blocked two more  
blows. His toothy grin widened, as it let her stab it in  
arm. For just the scantiest of moments, the blade was stuck.  
Cruel claws grabbed her neck and held her in a modified bear  
hug.  
  
Seemingly unconcerned with the foul wound and sword still in  
it, it turned back towards Sailor Neptune, slow steps eating  
up the distance with deceptive ease. "You surrender or I  
kill her!" it growled out as it carried its burden.  
  
"What?" Neptune said in surprise. Damn it, Haruka. Why did  
you have to jump in so close in?  
  
Still moving toward her, it responded, "You attack, I kill!"  
  
Her heart warred from within her with her duty. Hotaru and  
Ami were depending on her! "Deep Subm... erk!"  
  
That moment of indecision cost her as the youma's long leg  
snapped out into her stomach, driving the wind from her.  
  
Haruka screamed out, pushing what little power she had into  
sword, causing it to glow and burn the stinking flesh that  
held it.  
  
The youma roared, flinging her into the air. Up became down  
and then up again as she flipped around. The ground rushed  
up at her, stunning her severely when she impacted. Lights  
danced before her eyes as darkness attempted to steal her  
consciousness.  
  
"Haruka!" Sailor Neptune screamed out. She dodged the next  
kick and punch. The youma had thrown Micharu over a hundred  
feet!  
  
They struck simultaneously. Neptune cried out, "Deep  
Submerge!" as the youma fastened its claws on her shoulders,  
strength flowing from her.  
  
The youma howled as the attack tore at it, while the  
Sailor's failing life force nit itself back together.  
Finally her power failed, reverting her back to simple  
Micharu.  
  
The youma grinned nastily as it kept absorbing her life  
force. Her skin started to hang loosely, almost all life and  
vigor being viciously ripped from her. It let her drop to  
the ground defeated, barely alive.  
  
"Bastard! You've killed her! I'll see your soul in hell!"  
Haruka shouted as she swung her sword, cutting deeply into  
its chest.  
  
"Argh!" it roared, striking out at the hated sword that  
burned it.  
  
Haruka's finger went numb as her sword was broken from her  
grasp. "No!" she managed to scream out before a hand  
encompassed her head.  
  
The youma's wound started to close as the girl's struggles  
weakened. Just before the spark of her life was  
extinguished, it let her drop to the ground. With a roar of  
triumph, it scooped up both of its new prisoners and dashed  
into the fortress.  
  
Unlit corridors were traveled unerringly, leading ever  
deeper into the man made mausoleum. Dim light filtered out  
of a large room. Cages lined it, rusty and forbidding.  
  
Rei looked up, hoping to see the other Senshi, ready to  
rescue them. She started as she saw the youma enter,  
carrying two more of their comrades in arms. "Damn it!" she  
muttered.  
  
Makato glared from her cage, across the corridor. Shackles  
held her feet loosely, a chain leading to the wall. Tough  
cord was threaded through it, wires gleaming dully under the  
tough rubber that wouldn't cut.  
  
Minako looked on it horror from her own cage. What had  
happened to Micharu and Haruka? They looked... drained!  
  
"Food! You eat and I eat! I feed from you and become more  
powerful and eventually eat all Earth!" it roared loudly.  
  
"Go to hell, scumbag! I'm not going to be a candy bar for  
you!" Makato yelled back to it.  
  
The youma chuckled low and softly. It grabbed a sack from  
the ground, pulling out two odd looking fruits. It trod over  
and opened her cage. "You eat first," it said simply.  
Grabbing her before she could react, it shoved a piece of  
the flat tasting fruit into her mouth. Barely giving her  
time to breath and swallow, it fed her the food, slapping  
her carefully whenever she tried to fight back.  
  
Hot tears of rage coursed down her cheeks, as she felt her  
life force being drained away. Finally, she was released,  
collapsing to the ground as it walked to the next cage.  
Minako scrambled as she started to scream, tripping over her  
manacles.  
  
-  
  
Usagi just stared in incomprehension at the scene before  
her. Who was this stranger, wearing a mask and a tuxedo?  
  
"Who are you?" Tuxedo Kamen yelled out, dodging another  
blast of silvery black energy from Wiseman.  
  
"What? Who are you people?" Usagi called out, moving out of  
the way of the fight.  
  
"He means to send you back to a life you hate and despise!  
He wishes to have you be something you do not. You know that  
you want to be an ordinary girl, leaving behind the pain of  
the life that he wishes to force upon you!" Wiseman cried  
out loudly. Black lightning danced from his fingers,  
destroying any rose that would come too close.  
  
"That isn't true! I just want you to be happy!" Tuxedo Kamen  
called out, pulling his cape over his face quickly to avoid  
a small explosion of rocks from a near miss. What had he  
just said?  
  
"What? So she can go back to fighting and seeing her friends  
in danger, time and time again? Hah! You are far crueler  
than I. Let her go back to her family and friends, to the  
peace that she so desperately desires!" Wiseman called out.  
  
"If she has to fight, she only fights evil like you,  
creature!"  
  
"And fight she must? Oh, what a cruel taskmaster you are!  
And if I was so evil, why do I want to give her what she  
really wants?" Wiseman replied mockingly, from under his  
dark robes.  
  
"That isn't true! You are twisting my words!" Tuxedo Kamen  
ducked back down the hall and around the corner.  
  
"Your words show the truth of your manipulations, Tuxedo  
Kamen." Wiseman stood in front of his throne, shadows  
seeping from him in a dark pool. "And I will not let you  
interfere. Not now!"  
  
"Stop it, please stop it! Quit fighting!" Usagi screamed  
out. Strange feelings arose from within her. Fear, pain,  
anxiety and worry not of herself, from others far removed in  
regions unknown. Light flared from her for just a second,  
sending ripples across the solar system in a silver halo.  
One her forehead, the sigil of the moon burned bright in  
silver glory.  
  
Tuxedo Kamen eyes widened as memories washed across the  
surface of his mind, tickling protective instincts. "Usagi!"  
he screamed out, trying to charge a man whom he knew far to  
well. Wiseman! But he was the living embodiment of the  
planet Nemesis, from the future! Even then, Nemesis had been  
destroyed. "Die, Wiseman!" His cane bounced off of silvery  
black lightening. How could he have such power over life and  
death?!  
  
"So, you remember me, do you? But it doesn't matter, the  
more power she uses, the more powerful I become!" Skeletally  
thin hands reached for the sky, as from behind him the  
gigantic black crystal pulsed darkly. Silvery lightening  
arced from it and into his palms. From the shadows below  
their feet, figures rose smoothly, as riding an unseen  
elevator. Four female silhouettes and one male stood in a  
circle around the young man.  
  
Tuxedo Kamen eyes shifted left and right, taking in the  
black figures. Glowing blood red crescent moons appeared on  
their foreheads. A cold chill traveled up his back as he  
realized who these figures must be. Did Wiseman have that  
much power? Power to bring back his dead minions?  
  
"Strike him down, my Black Moon nobles! Strike him down for  
the misery he and his queen will inflict on generations of  
your kin!"  
  
-  
  
Ashkall loped along the floor, feeling better than he had in  
weeks. Most of its scars were faded and almost gone. It left  
behind the almost lifeless forms of the captured Senshi in  
their cages. There were the two last ones that Ashkall  
wanted to capture while it was still dark. The darkness was  
when he would be strongest and they at their weakest. They  
would be tired after hours of travel and easy prey.  
  
For minutes he traveled at speeds that would shame the  
greatest of Olympic athletes. It stopped to sniff the  
ground, like an over sized dog. It spent the next hour  
following the elusive trail. Its nose had saved it several  
times since the dreaded fall of Jadeite, when the youma had  
fought among themselves for supremacy of a dying planet.  
Without food, the youma would eventually die a lingering,  
painful death. That and turn on each other and feed for the  
desperately sought life force that they desired.  
  
Ashkall stopped, its nose picking up a strange odor that  
reminded it of the plant that grew the fruit for the  
prisoners. After a few seconds, it left, seeing no  
importance to the small growth in one of the cracks in the  
ground.  
  
Red eyes narrowed, as it finally spotted its prey, laying  
huddled together in a dirty crevasse in a hill. That large  
glaive still radiated with great power. It would be hard to  
approach without being seen.  
  
It just had a moment of warning, as light flared above it,  
to react to the sudden attack of the fiery bird above it  
struck with sudden savageness, heat radiating from it in  
scorching waves.  
  
Sailor Saturn jerked at the sudden blinding light, as she  
saw monster and Sailor Sun's familiar fight a mere two  
hundred feet away. Her eye's squinted in the glare.  
  
Chizuko clawed and bit, trying to destroy the monster that  
had taken the other Senshi. "You will not hurt them!" the  
bird cried out.  
  
"You will not stop me! I hunger and I will not be denied!"  
Ashkall screamed out, lashing out with brutal claws, rending  
flesh and feathers.  
  
Chizuko retaliated by biting at its eyes, managing to  
destroy one. The hawk screamed in agony as one of her wings  
was cruelly broken by a lucky swipe of a powerful claw.  
  
"You will feed me too, bird!" it spat out, as it threw  
Chizuko to the ground and cracked the parched rock. It's  
claws dug in, draining even more energy than it had ever  
imagined. Ashkall screamed in agony as liquid fire danced in  
its veins, burning it from the inside out.  
  
Spells that kept the sun's needed warmth in her breast were  
loosened as the poor hawk felt its life force  
metamorphosing, fragmenting the careful safe guards that  
Sailor Sun had created a millennia ago. Chizuko let out a  
feeble squawk before starting to explode, releasing golden  
fire from her mouth and eyes.  
  
"Saturn!" Setsuna cried out, alarm in her voice.  
  
The light grew impossibly brighter as the bird erupted into  
primordial flames, destroying anything near her instantly  
with more power than an atomic bomb. Jadeite's fortress  
shook and its armor cracked slightly, awakening their  
prisoners deep within its bowels.  
  
The mass of a mountain was instantly vaporized and flung  
into the air, in a giant cloud that grew into a gigantic  
mushroom, out shining the distant sun.  
  
Terrible minutes later, in the heart of the terrible  
conflagration, life clawed for survival as Sailor Saturn  
pushed herself and her unparalleled weapon to maintain her  
Silence Wall against the insane fury of elemental energy and  
devastation.  
  
Minutes that Setsuna used to good advantage, recalling  
ancient spells and etheric energies that she had not used in  
centuries. Words and gestures flew from her mouth and hands  
in dizzying rapidity.  
  
Time froze, deafening her with sudden silence, the raging  
storm frozen solid. She took a moment to catch her breath,  
pushing sweat drenched green hair out of her eyes.  
Determination lit up in her eyes as she strode up to the  
frozen Sailor Saturn. A mere touch accelerated the child to  
same subjective speed that she was traveling.  
  
Sailor Saturn stood for just a moment longer, before  
collapsing, leaving a weak, battered and confused Hotaru  
behind. "S-Setsuna? What's going on?" she said feebly.  
  
"We are safe for a while. Can you walk? We need to make it  
back the fortress before this state ends," she said,  
carefully helping the young girl to stand.  
  
"If we don't go too fast. What happened?" Hotaru asked,  
leaning on the Silence glaive.  
  
Setsuna leaned down and picked up the unconscious Ami.  
Grunting under the burden, they walked away from the  
blinding heart of destruction.  
  
"Sailor Sun's friend, the hawk that she always has around,  
was a creature that lives within the Sun. It can't survive  
without powerful spells keeping its heat within it, making  
it so it doesn't freeze to death in the cold of Earth or  
space. But those spells were destroyed when the youma was  
fighting it. Such power! My respect for Sailor Sun's  
ingenuity and daring grows even more."  
  
"Wow! Oh, no! Poor Chizuko!" Hotaru cried out. "She couldn't  
have survived, could she?"  
  
"No, there's no way. She probably froze to death almost  
instantly, nearly vaporizing us in the process." Setsuna  
came to end of their path, all that was left of the  
mountain, caught in the lee of the blast as it was protected  
by Saturn's wall. Quite calmly, she stepped off the path and  
into the air as if it were solid ground.  
  
"Uh, I can't do that Setsuna!" Hotaru said nervously.  
  
"Don't worry. The spell I cast allows such impossibilities.  
It would have to, otherwise we would smash ourselves against  
air that is far heavier than lead. Just trust me," the green  
haired woman said calmly. She reached out and helped the  
waif take her first steps into the air.  
  
"I didn't realize you could do this!" Hotaru exclaimed.  
  
"Well, I didn't realize you could stop a nuclear bomb with  
your wall. I think it's been a day of surprises all around,"  
Setsuna said wryly.  
  
-  
  
"So, this place was discovered, but you can't get in?"  
Sailor Sun asked.  
  
"There's a door and even a keyhole. But no force that we've  
been able to use has even scratched the surface of its  
metal," Sailor Moon said, brushing an errant strand of pink  
hair out of her eyes.  
  
"So what's different this time?" Sailor Io asked as they  
trekked along the carefully constructed path that led up the  
side of the metal mountain.  
  
"We were told by Pluto to come here, that's what," Sailor  
Moon said shortly. "Maybe the Staff of Time might be able to  
open it now."  
  
"But, that's Pluto's staff-thingy, right?"  
  
"Yes, it is," Sailor Moon ground out between clenched teeth.  
  
"So why didn't she try to open it?"  
  
"She did, but it wouldn't open. I'm guessing that it is some  
sort of time lock. It'll only open right now!" Sailor Moon  
smiled in anticipation.  
  
With much fanfare, she inserted the Time Staff into the lock  
and tried to open it.  
  
Impatiently, she turned harder, straining to open it.  
  
The pink haired princess glared at the obstinate lock. Why  
wouldn't it open?  
  
"The right time, huh?" Sailor Sun said sarcastically.  
  
"Oh, shut up! You're always so obnoxious!"  
  
Sailor Io could only nod in agreement as she rolled her  
eyes.  
  
-  
  
Tuxedo Kamen circled warily, trying to keep the five  
circling figures in his view. Each had their own distinctive  
attack that he'd fallen prey to in the past. His clothing  
was singed and smudged, his footsteps unsure. "Why do you  
continue to hurt us? What did we do to deserve this?"  
  
Usagi nodded dumbly in agreement, also wishing to know what  
was wanted. This was so strange, so ethereal and distant.  
The dim shadows were only broken by softly glowing figures.  
  
"Still you speak your poisoned councils. At least this time  
you speak against me yourself. Not through your 'advisors'.  
How I cursed you and Queen Serenity when you banished our  
fair family to Nemesis." The dark cloaked figure shook with  
barely suppressed rage.  
  
"That hasn't happened yet!" Tuxedo Kamen cried out as he  
managed to remember that what he was being accused of was  
something that would happen.  
  
"And if I have my way, it will never happen, Endymion." From  
his robe's dark sleeves a torrent of brilliant and ruby red  
energy, scorching the Prince of Earth.  
  
Tuxedo Kamen started to scream, as liquid fire rooted his  
feet to the ground. Suddenly, his voice cut off.  
  
The silence was then broken by a high pitched scream, as  
Usagi saw the strangely dashing and heroic figure had been  
turned into stone. Dimly, she realized that she was the one  
that was screaming.  
  
-  
  
Ami's eyes finally opened, feeling gritty and dry. Her heart  
almost stopped. A gray metal ceiling, almost hidden in  
shadows met her view.  
  
"She's awake!" Minako shouted happily.  
  
A small stampede of feat signaled the arrival of the rest of  
the Senshi. Smiling faces surrounded the short haired girl.  
Helping hands propped her up.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Makato asked.  
  
"I've felt better. So, what happened?" Ami asked. "I  
remember trying to open the door to the outside."  
  
"The youma is dead. So is Ranma's familiar. The youma ripped  
her apart and she exploded," Minako said despondently.  
  
Poor Chizuko.  
  
"Well, at least it found something in the crater. Who would  
have thought that there was something that immense hidden  
beneath the mountains there?" Haruka mused. "Some sort of  
military base. Whatever it's made of, it's tough stuff."  
  
"We did find a door, but it's locked," Hotaru explained  
helpfully.  
  
"Well, I don't see why it's so important. Right now, getting  
home should be our goal." Ami put on her thinking  
expression.  
  
"I don't doubt that, Ami. It's just that this find is so  
immense. It beggars description. The thing is miles wide!"  
Setsuna said quietly.  
  
"Miles? Just how big of an explosion did Chizuko make?" Ami  
asked in surprise.  
  
"At least nuclear! And the metal didn't scratch in the  
slightest. It should be impossible. Nothing is that strong,"  
Setsuna explained. Well, except for the time gate hidden  
within Pluto. But that was hardly physical.  
  
"I have an idea. I'll need to build a shield against that  
strange attack that tried to erase us. And I've got to  
figure out some way of powering the portal home." Ami popped  
and stretched. She stood up, noting that they were in some  
very fine living room.  
  
"So, do we need to go look for some fuel? Or are we going to  
work on solar power or something?" Makoto asked.  
  
"Fuels won't work any ways. It lacks the necessary magical  
component of life forces. As far as I know, the only source  
of life that will work here is us. And that'll be draining  
us like the youma did. Not my idea of fun. Besides, there  
aren't going to be any fossil fuels here. There hadn't been  
life before Jadeite showed up."  
  
"So we get to drain ourselves. Yuck. But if that's what we  
have to do, then that's what we do. Our princess needs us.  
That is all that's really important," Rei said decisively.  
  
Everyone looked at her in surprise. Was this the same Rei  
that continually complained about Usagi?  
  
A sweat drop appeared on Rei's forehead. "What?"  
  
"Um, nothing. That was just a bit surprising, coming from  
you," Minako explained.  
  
"I don't pick on her because I like to, you know. It's for  
her own good."  
  
Everyone blinked in surprise at that. Her sweat drop grew  
even bigger.  
  
"What?"  
  
-  
  
Ranma sat in the control chair of the Solaris. He was  
dressed in a white and gold military uniform. In front of  
him floated a glowing representation of the solar system.  
  
"Do you think they took the bait, Sailor Jupiter?" he said  
to a hologram floating to the left of it.  
  
"It sure looks like it. They're forming an attack group in  
the shadow of Jupiter, just like you thought they would,"  
the brown haired woman said thoughtfully.  
  
"It just seemed like the correct thing to do. Tell me when  
they start to actually move in to attack the planet itself."  
  
"Wait just a second. They're moving already. I'm hooking you  
up with Io to synchronize the attack," she said curtly,  
cutting off the communication.  
  
"Wait! Hold on, I don't want to..."  
  
"...talk to me, Ranma?" Sailor Io said softly. "I know. It  
still hurts." Her hologram had formed in an open spot to the  
left of him.  
  
The defender of the Sun couldn't raise his eyes to meet her.  
"I never wanted to hurt you."  
  
"I know. I just met our past selves. They had accidentally  
hitched a ride to the future with the princess. It just  
about broke my heart, to see them before..."  
  
"...before I destroyed any chance of us ever having kids? I  
don't even remember what I'd done to overuse my powers  
before fully exploring them. My memory from before the ice  
age is so fragmented. So lost."  
  
"That comes from having over a thousand years of memories.  
Who would have imagined that the two of us would be the only  
ones to escape that cataclysm." Sailor Io shook her head.  
"But back to our duty. Fire at the predetermined location.  
Give me a countdown to when it will strike the mirror."  
  
The Solaris II shifted its orbit around the Sun. The great  
gold miles long cylindrical shape split in great rectangles,  
unfurling into a gigantic silver reflector, pointing at the  
Sun. Smaller satellites around the great molten center of  
the solar system focused even more energy on the mirror. A  
mirror that was thousands of miles wide!  
  
All of that energy was focused on a gem encrusted mirror, a  
bare hundred feet across. Dancing beams of light flickered  
from gem to gem. A beam of coherent light, amplified by life  
crystals, blasted forth into the cold darkness.  
  
"Fifteen minutes." Ranma stared at the small hologram in  
front of him. "I never stopped loving you. But I just  
couldn't stand to see your disappointment anymore. You had  
always wanted children. And it was obvious who was the  
problem."  
  
"I never blamed you."  
  
"But I did."  
  
Minutes ticked by slowly. "Two minutes."  
  
Sailor Io gripped the ice pedestal in front of her. Glowing  
lights within it signaled the correct time. Around her  
frozen citadel, a glimmering of snow started to drift  
upwards. Soon it was followed by chunks of ice, flinging  
themselves into the void of space.  
  
The opalescent spiders, in a swarm thousands of miles wide  
all turned to see stream of ice streak into space in front  
of them, off to the side. Inaudible chittering traveled back  
and forth across the hive mind. As the ice formed into an  
oblong mirror, the danger became dramatically apparent to  
them all. They could see the reflection of the sun, a mere  
pinprick in the mirror. In panic, they started to flee the  
path of the burning death, the hated sunbeam that killed  
them.  
  
Too late, the center of the swarm was instantly vaporized by  
the beam. The mirror melted a mere moment later, but the  
damage and cohesion had been broken.  
  
Still numbering in the millions, the remains of the  
Chronovores continued to charge the gigantic planet ahead of  
them. The had banked on being able to take the largest world  
and make it their base. They could not fail.  
  
Their senses, attuned to energies and light beyond that is  
visible, felt another wave of energy forming. In front of  
them lay their last opponent to defend against  
insurmountable odds. Eternal Jupiter floated in space,  
protected from icy death and suffocation by her magical  
aura. Behind her lay Jupiter, slowing spinning majestically  
behind her. She held Eternal Mercury on her left hand and  
Eternal Venus on her right.  
  
Magnetic forces, from the greatest planetary magnetic field  
in the solar system, concentrated in the rapidly dispersing  
vapor from the sunbeam attack. Electrical potential grew  
larger and more potent, until a planet-shattering bolt of  
lightning exploded from the center of the cloud, striking  
almost all of the final Chronovores with lethal levels of  
electricity.  
  
The dozens that were left were in full retreat, not  
understanding how their victory had been stolen from them.  
They never made it, as another bolt of solar vengeance  
burned them from the firmament.  
  
Eternal Mercury read more information off of a floating  
screen. "We still have only four more hours before they  
totally encircle us. Four hours until the end."  
  
-  
  
"We're running out of time, Sailor Moon. We have to figure  
out some way in!" Sailor Io said.  
  
"We know, Akane! We know! Damn things even impervious to the  
Breaking Point." Sailor Sun again attempted to burn a hole  
in it, to no noticeable affect.  
  
"If only the Sailor Io from this time could remember more!"  
Sailor Moon said, banging her fist against the impenetrable  
armor.  
  
"That doesn't make sense. She had to give us enough  
information. We must not be looking at it correctly," Sailor  
Sun mused.  
  
"Sure..." the youngest scout said, her voice trailing off.  
She was right. The clues had to be there. They weren't  
looking at it correctly. And Sailor Pluto wasn't magically  
appearing to solve their problems.  
  
What was she missing?  
  
"Too bad you can't go ask your future self what we need to  
do," Sailor Io said, tapping the door.  
  
That was it! Io hadn't said Sailor Pluto; she had said the  
Guardian of Time. Usagi Chibi was the Guardian of Time now,  
specifically trained by Pluto to take her place. So if Pluto  
hadn't sent her here, maybe she had sent herself. So how  
would she know the key to unlock this impenetrable fortress?  
It had to do with the Key, of course.  
  
Well, knowing herself, she'd have mentally encoded a  
password, too. So, was that all it required, her choosing a  
password now? Something she'd remember to use later, of  
course.  
  
Sailor Moon set the key in the lock again. "Open in the name  
of the Queen!" she cried out loudly.  
  
"That ain't gonna... work? How the heck..." Sailor Sun  
trailed off in surprise, even as motes of light formed  
around them.  
  
In the blink of an eye they were in a high tech control  
room, screens and flat crystal surfaces everywhere.  
  
"That was it! Pu didn't send us here, I did! Which means  
that I must have prepared this at some point in the future."  
She paused a second. "That breaks all sorts of rules of time  
travel. Those strictures are there for a very good reason.  
Unless, these Chronovores are an actual threat to time  
itself?"  
  
"So, you're saying, if we don't stop them, it's not just the  
solar system that goes kablooey, but everything will?"  
Sailor Io exclaimed. "The entire universe?"  
  
"Well, I think so. So what is this fortress?" she murmured  
to herself.  
  
A large hologram appeared, showing the green and blue  
surface of Solitude. Bright cracks of light appeared,  
splitting it into hexes. Under their feet, the ground rocked  
as the hexes started to drift apart. Sailor Sun shoved her  
nose up close to it.  
  
"I... think this is what's really going on. Solitude is  
breaking apart."  
  
Out in space, where the only true view was, the world was  
indeed breaking apart into gigantic plates. Beams of pure  
white force crackled like lightning between each plate, even  
as they flew wider and wider apart.  
  
"It's a nascent lock! We can't save Pluto, because it's fate  
is sealed in time. So this is a replacement lock! The only  
real solution to an insoluble problem! We can't stop the  
Chronovores, because we don't have enough time. But someone  
in the future did and sent it back in time."  
  
"I just got a headache!"  
  
"Oh, hush, Ranma!"  
  
Sailor Moon tapped the control panels in front of her in a  
seemingly meaningful manner, her pink cow tails swishing as  
she bobbed her head. "But where are they going to get enough  
energy?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You need an incredible amount of energy to lockdown the  
local temporal zone. More than any planet will ever  
produce."  
  
"Solitude is falling way apart. Why?" Sailor Io asked,  
pointing at the hologram.  
  
"Solitude was hollow, I guess. So many of the pieces are  
moving so fast. Wait, it seems to be moving to enclose this  
sun."  
  
Sailor Sun seemed to be enthralled when the sun came into  
view on the holograph. "Could you use a sun?"  
  
"I guess. It seems like the designer is going to try."  
  
"The Phoenix are trying to signal someone, anyone, to rescue  
them. Something is terrifying them!" Sailor Sun cried out in  
sudden alarm.  
  
"How can you tell? Wait, the gravity field is fluctuating,  
increasing radically "  
  
"The sunspots are going wild! It's their form of an S.O.S."  
Sailor Sun's fist gripped tighter and tighter, her knuckles  
popping.  
  
"Space is starting to fold!"  
  
Plumes of fire, millions of miles tall were being ejected by  
in between the hexes of Solitude. Space contracted,  
uncounted rainbows of colors spreading in circular waves  
across the edge of this reality.  
  
"There are billions of them! I've got to try something to  
save them!" Sailor Sun cried out.  
  
"Ranma?" Sailor Io called out, reaching out and grabbing her  
love. "Don't you dare leave me!"  
  
At her touch, as if remembering something through a fog  
memories, Sailor Sun's power flared. Following some unknown  
cue, they chanted in unison, "Sailor Teleport!'  
  
"What are they trying to do? Don't those idiots realize what  
sort of forces are out there right now?" But she was talking  
to thin air.  
  
They appeared in outer space, close by one of the flares.  
Akane's breath was taken away by the incredible view of  
birds, formed of flames that danced in those hellish fires.  
Seeming to spot them, hundreds of them fluttered away,  
almost quicker than the eye could follow.  
  
A mere moment later, a much larger and nobler looking  
phoenix appeared at the edge of the still expanding plume.  
'Sailor Sun, you came as you promised!' a familiar voice  
called out across the void.  
  
"Like I promised?" Sailor Sun stuttered. "Chizuko? What are  
you doing here?"  
  
'No time for that! My shell was destroyed and I was stranded  
here a thousand years ago. You said it was important that I  
prepare my people to flee this star!'  
  
"That's it! We're going back to our dimension. But it isn't  
safe. Not with the Chronovores running loose," Sailor Io  
called out.  
  
'Chronovores? The ancient enemy still?'  
  
"Uh, yeah. They are attacking the Time Gate and... "  
  
'They threaten reality itself! This must not happen. They  
will throw the universe back into universal chaos!' Chizuko  
laid back her head and let loose a resounding hawk-like cry  
that nearly deafened them.  
  
That cry was answered a million times over. Even as all the  
plumes were filled with masses of the legendary firebirds,  
the edge of space collapsed, rushing inward at the speed of  
existence. For one second it seemed reality flip-flopped and  
then stars appeared. Billions and billions of stars!  
  
Out near the orbit of Pluto, a new star appeared, suddenly  
warming everything near it!  
  
And before them, around the ragged remains of the planet  
known as Pluto, even more and more glittering time arachnids  
teleported back to their desperate beachhead. Their plan  
forgotten, they pulled all of their forces back even as they  
struggled anew to crack the Time Gate.  
  
Sailor Io gasped as she felt herself connect with the  
ephemeral powers granted her by Io, surging life back into  
her.  
  
In front of them and spinning in rings out in space around  
the remains of Pluto, patterns and glyphs of power sprang  
into existence, twirling like some sort of combination lock.  
In the center of the sudden light show, a sphere of metal  
that was the true heart of the Gate of Time, cracks and  
fractures raced across its surface.  
  
With a soundless explosion, the Gate of Time shattered.  
  
-  
  
Dark clouds drifted over Tokyo, sending people scurrying on  
their way. Even though it wasn't raining, people looked up  
anxiously up at the clouds, one hand always ready with an  
umbrella. In front of a foreboding bank, a man who was  
trotting into its lobby seemed to strike the air. With a  
startled cry, he was sent spinning, even as the air rippled  
like a liquid mirror.  
  
Ami stepped out of the opening portal as easily as she would  
have a subway. A high tech set of glasses relayed  
information to her from a kludged together computer in her  
hands. A bubble of energy seemed to resolve itself around  
her, faint sparks of electricity arcing across the surface.  
  
"Got it! It's safe!" she called out behind her. "Hurry, the  
portal will only stay open for a minute."  
  
From behind her the rest of the group tumbled out in a  
hurry. Haruka and Setsuna held their weapons at the ready,  
staff and sword prepared to defend the others if necessary.  
Right behind them came the diminutive Hotaru with her  
Glaive.  
  
As soon as they appeared, sparks and electricity appeared  
around them in the same sort of bubbles.  
  
"What's with the lightshow?" Rei asked, looking around. She  
felt vaguely embarrassed by the attention they were  
gathering.  
  
"Alley! Quick!" Minako called out, leading the other in that  
direction.  
  
So the citizens of Tokyo were treated to the odd sight of a  
large group of young women dashing for the nearest alleyway  
as if their life depended on it.  
  
More and more lightning crackled across the spheres of  
invisible force that protected them. As Makoto followed them  
into the alleyway, she thought she saw the whole area  
flicker for just one second. The darkly gothic bank was  
overlaid for just a second with a cheerful scene of an  
outdoor restaurant, the foreboding crowd of dark suited men  
and women shifting places with a more gaily garbed populace.  
  
Blinding flashes of light illuminated the alleyway as the  
Sailor Senshi transformed. Sailor Mercury focused on the  
metallic bracelet, adorned with crystals and lights. The  
bubble around her twisted as if alive, expanding and seeming  
to become stronger and more defined. The other Senshi  
followed her lead, enhancing their force fields.  
  
"Okay. We made it back and we didn't get turned 'normal.'  
Now, we just need to find out what did this and track it  
back so we can attack." Michiru had manifested her mirror  
and was busy staring into its depths.  
  
Sailor Mercury sighed with relief as she started to work  
with her silver millennium computer, her holographic visor  
working much better than the cobbled computer she'd made in  
Jadeite's dimension.  
  
-  
  
The ground shook, sending crystals tumbling. The dark robed  
figure seemed to scowl, his eyes turning red as he drifted  
towards a towering black crystal. Behind him, on what looked  
to be a stage, Usagi sat at a long dinner table, seemingly  
uncomfortable in her sun dress. Her haunted eyes would drift  
furtively towards the odd crystal statue of a man in a  
tuxedo, seemingly screaming in horror. It should have evoked  
horror and terror, but all she could feel was an odd sense  
of loss.  
  
"Something... is interfering. Interfering with my world,"  
Wiseman rasped quietly to himself. He was close, his black  
crystal almost perfect, with no cracks or flaws. He could  
feel more stress building within it, threatening to destroy  
it. Someone must be remembering, fighting against the truth  
of now, trying to bring back the old and unwanted past.  
Shadows of women and men drifted through the ground like  
smoke. "Find them. Purge them from here and now!"  
  
"What are you doing, Wiseman?" Usagi's eyes looked up at  
him, wide and innocent. At the edge of her vision, the wine  
glasses and dinner shimmered for just a second.  
  
"I am... protecting you. There are people who wish to do you  
harm, put you in danger. My child."  
  
She sat quietly, eating slowly and carefully. She felt  
enclosed, trapped. Vertigo tried to grasp her in  
claustrophobia. Bravely (why so bravely?) she showed no sign  
of her discomfort.  
  
She was startled by a resounding crash, thunder echoing  
around the cavernous room. Dust shifted from the black  
vaulted ceiling up above, cascading down.  
  
"How can they remember?" Wiseman mused to himself. He hadn't  
felt any resistance to his control in days.  
  
The great double doors shattered inward, inlayed onyx and  
obsidian scattering across the floor. The flood of water  
seemed to sparkle and then vanished without a trace.  
  
She felt herself float up to where the dark robed Wiseman  
stood next to his crystal. A darkly translucent bubble  
appeared around them.  
  
The feeling of the unreal flowed through the young girl.  
Even as the Sailor Senshi fought a desperate battle against  
the resurrected foes of the Black Moon, Usagi watched the  
amazing fight with detachment, almost disdain. A mist seemed  
to diffuse what little light reached the room, giving the  
scene a dreamlike quality.  
  
They were obviously Wiseman's enemies, come here for some  
reason. Why did she feel as if she had seen this same sort  
of thing, time and time again? Her heart thrummed to an  
unknown beat, a cadence deep and demanding, urging them on  
into battle.  
  
The battle seesawed back and forth, shadowy figures being  
dispersed under many (odd but familiar) attacks. The Senshi  
merely gritted their teeth when they were struck, giving  
their wounded the chance to recover when they had to stop  
because of their wounds. Sword, staff and spear spun a  
deadly dance.  
  
Finally, one of them (Mars, Usagi thought dimly) was unable  
to duck and was overwhelmed. A shadowy woman with a blood  
red moon symbol on her forehead ripped an ornamental  
bracelet off. For one long second, two people seemed to  
exist in one space. The young woman in robes collapsed,  
clutching long scratches on her arm. She seemed to be saying  
something, but it couldn't be made out through the force  
field that enclosed the quiet at the storms heart.  
  
The shadow smiled cruelly, but seeing her no threat turned  
to help a uniformed man attack another of the strange girls.  
With a grim determination, the raven-tressed girl crawled  
towards the statue of horror. A look of terrible  
concentration was on her brow. Sweat beaded on her brow.  
  
Usagi silently mouthed 'Mamoru' along with the girl, a chord  
of recognition struck deep within her. The archaically robed  
girl stared at a piece of paper in her hand, as if to try  
and fathom why she had it there. Trembling, she chanted  
something unheard by Usagi, slapping the paper against the  
statue, as if it were an evil spirit.  
  
Silver crack of white light started fracturing from the  
piece of paper, as if some great hammer had struck a star  
that was encased within a fragile shell.  
  
"I will not stand for this!" Wiseman shouted, shattering the  
near silence within the bubble. Waves of darkness streamed  
from his hands, striking the unprepared girl and the statue.  
The darkness tore at the light, the paper and the girl,  
abrading and scouring them.  
  
Usagi noted dimly, far off in the analytical portion of  
herself, that she must be screaming horribly. The scream was  
realized as she determinedly threw herself towards Rei (her  
name is Rei she thought dimly) and something else so  
terribly important. The statue. Why was it so important to  
her?  
  
"Stop it! Stop it!" she shouted even as the darkness cut off  
its relentless attack.  
  
"You wanted this, Usagi! You wanted to be normal, to have an  
uncomplicated life, free of these sort of burdens! I am just  
giving you what you want!" the heavily cowled figure cried  
out.  
  
Rei looked up at the strange girl that was holding her  
steady. Her questioning eye seemed to ask, who are you that  
cares about me? Around them, the fight had stilled, as if  
inconsequential in comparison to this event, this drama.  
  
"I'm supposed to know her. And him too. They feel so  
important to me. Why do I feel like this?"  
  
"I've told you, you wish to be free of the duties that chain  
you to these people! They would drag you back to an unhappy  
life!" Skeletal hands slowly gathered dark energy in them.  
"It is by your will that this happens! I am merely the  
instrument of that will!"  
  
Ripples in the air traveled between the two, as if the air  
was liquid, in turmoil under a rain. "Duty..." ...is such a  
terrible burden to bear. She clenched her hands, the fight  
around her stalled with bated breath. She did feel an  
overwhelming urge to give up these cares, to run free and  
happy.  
  
But beneath that urge lay a gaping sense of loss. A loss  
that she could no longer carry within her.  
  
"No." Her voice echoed hollowly across the room, alighting a  
surge of hope among her friends that were watching.  
  
"What? This is what you want! I can not lie about this! It  
is part of my existence now!"  
  
Rei rasped out a deep breath. Who was this evil? Why did she  
feel as if conversation was far more important than the  
battle that had raged around her. She looked over at the  
girl, eyes bare inches apart. She should... "...believe in  
yourself. I... believe in you."  
  
"This is all about me. My wants. Against duty and love..."  
her voice was almost a whisper, so softly she talked.  
  
Rei felt a breath of fresh air, revitalizing her and  
awakening her memories. Her robes melted away into her  
warrior's uniform. "Serenity."  
  
"I will not go back into oblivion! I will destroy this world  
first and make it a new Nemesis, undoing that hated future!"  
His gathered ebon energy struck at her with a fury of a  
howling wind. In front of it, the ground itself was  
destroyed, shattered into dust.  
  
In front of it, Usagi held up her cupped hands. Her tears  
ran across her now peaceful face. Sparkling, her tears  
formed into a small crystal with the brilliance of the sun.  
A light so bright that no darkness could come near it, an  
impenetrable damn against the abyss.  
  
Wiseman staggered back, even as his shadows moaned in horror  
at the light. Hands composed only of bones clawed at his  
crystal, drawing more and more power.  
  
Sailor Moon floated at the heart of the light. Behind her,  
the stone-like casement that held Tuxedo Kamen was blasted  
as if by some unstoppable explosion. At his feet, two cats  
of opposite appearance blinked as their own prisons  
disappeared.  
  
The short skirted uniform became purer, a long gown of  
softest white. Clear blue eyes opened, anger growing within  
them.  
  
"Wiseman. I don't know how, but this ends. Now!" shouted  
Usagi; Serenity, the future queen clearly showing through.  
This was the man, destroyed and come back, who tried to kill  
her friends and her future family.  
  
"I have your power! Even you can not stand against it!" the  
avatar of Nemesis cackled insanely. Black lightning struck  
the building and the ground with irresistible power.  
  
"My power? My desire and my will?" Her eyes narrowed in  
thought. "I am not the child I was. I can choose. And with  
that choice, take back my power!" she cried out. Light  
streamed out in glorious wonder to shine on the midnight  
black crystal  
  
"No! How can this be?" Wiseman cried out, panic layering his  
voice with fear. Fractures appeared, blemishing its pure  
finish.  
  
"The Silver Millennium Crystal is my heritage! When my  
purpose is pure, it can not be turned against me!" Terrible  
strain was evident as she channeled such great power. "It is  
me!"  
  
"And she is not alone!" Endymion added even as he put his  
hands upon her shoulder. A soft glow of gold emanated from  
him.  
  
Without any words, Sailor Mars followed suit, putting her  
hands on Usagi's other shoulder. She glowed a radiant red in  
response to her liege.  
  
The Silver Crystal pulsed once with the brilliance of a  
nova, traveling across the world in an eye blink. The whole  
world seemed to shake, even as the shade of Nemesis was  
expelled into space.  
  
-  
  
With a sun at her back and a force of millions of burning  
spirits, Sailor Sun raised her sword high. Light glinted on  
it from behind her. Without further ado, the forces of light  
surged onward into battle.  
  
From afar it looked to be a massive wedge of destructive  
energy that struck the Chronovores with a force beyond  
reckoning. Up close it resembled a dog fight of galactic  
scale. Fiery beaks and claws tore at glassy carapaces. Back  
and forth the battle flowed in the intense minutes of  
fighting.  
  
Approaching the battle, the shrinking sun of Solitude burned  
more and more intensely, even as less light was visible. It  
moved forward with terrible grandeur, a key fitting a lock.  
Or perhaps more accurately, a lock that perfectly fit a key.  
  
At the center of what used to be Pluto, the Chronovores  
smashed themselves against the last barriers that kept them  
from all time. Solitude swept toward them, now only twice  
the size of what it was supposed to be. Incandescent beams  
of pure white energy leaked from between the planetary  
plates.  
  
With only moments to go and a final barrier to breach,  
warriors appeared. Swords, staff and glaive. The defenders  
of the solar system roared a challenge as they flung  
themselves into combat to delay them for just long enough.  
  
The very ether seemed to seethe and boil as Solitude  
engulfed the fracture of time. Invisible lightning pulled  
the planet together with a silent snap, leaving the orbit  
quiet for a long moment.  
  
A new star appeared on the surface of Solitude. "We made  
it," Queen Serenity said, looking around at the darkening  
sky.  
  
All of the Sailor Senshi had appeared. Sailor Sun's male  
uniform seemed to contrast terribly with all of the flowing  
gowns. Unconsciously, he gravitated near Eternal Io who was  
watching the ongoing proceedings.  
  
King Endymion nodded his agreement. Behind him, Eternal  
Neptune had summoned her mirror to use its powers to scry  
out the movements of the enemy. "It appears they have been  
routed. It my take a few years, but we should be able to  
track them down and make sure they never threaten us again."  
  
A whirling circle of light appeared, heralding the  
appearance of the Guardian of Time.  
  
"Pluto-?" Serenity started to ask, startled when she saw her  
daughter appear.  
  
The neo-sailor bowed her head, tears threatening to pour  
from her. She had almost put the death of Sailor Pluto  
behind her. "She really was killed in the first attack by  
Chronovores."  
  
"She has a duty, to me and my line," Serenity said firmly.  
"It is a far greater burden and even death can not stand  
against such oaths." The Silver Millennium Crystal appeared  
within her cupped hands.  
  
"Mother? MOM!" Princess Usagi screamed out, only to be  
stopped by Eternal Mars and her father.  
  
The light sparkled and grew more intense as Queen Serenity  
raised her hands far above her head. A soundless wind of  
pure light came from her hands, blinding all who watched.  
Even the most powerful among them, Eternal Saturn, had to  
avert her eyes.  
  
A small child's crying broke the stillness after the light  
had left.  
  
"Wha-" Two fingers silenced her, a gesture of her childhood  
from her father.  
  
"Sailor Pluto no more, but still cherished and beloved of  
the House of the Moon. I name thee Setsuna of Solitude,  
princess of the Court of the Moon, last child of Chronos.  
For thy lands I grant thee Solitude, to protect and cherish  
for the realm." A magical light followed her tracing finger  
as it made a pattern on the small baby's forehead, its eyes  
unblinking.  
  
She turned to her daughter. "Into my daughter's care I place  
you, as she was placed into yours. And so the circle is  
complete."  
  
The princess mutely took the small baby up, holding her  
close. "Thank you, mother."  
  
"It hurts me to see you hurt so over her loss. She was  
closer to you than I could ever be with my duties," Serenity  
replied sorrowfully. She was surprised when she was hugged  
tightly by first her daughter and then the two of them by  
her husband.  
  
"There's still lots of time," her daughter said, her smile  
echoed by her father.  
  
All of the Senshi sniffled a little (even Sailor Sun had a  
bit of dust in his eyes.) For several long minutes, they  
cherished the royal family's reunion.  
  
"This calls for a party!" Eternal Venus suddenly shouted,  
her right hand raised up in a 'V' for a dramatic victory  
salute.  
  
Almost everyone stared at her in mute astonishment, except  
Mars and Jupiter that rolled their eyes at their old friends  
eternal immaturity. A bead of sweat grew on the blonde  
princess of Venus's forehead.  
  
Serenity suddenly started laughing, breaking an old facade  
of seriousness. "Of course! It shall be held in celebration  
of our victory. All of you are commanded to be present and  
have fun."  
  
"Uh, are you sure of that?" Sailor Sun asked. Parties had  
not been something he had been able to get into. Especially  
with Akane going to be there.  
  
The Queen frowned for just a second. Following her command  
by instinct, Jupiter and Mars grabbed him in two separate  
but effective martial holds.  
  
"You are going to be there, aren't you?"  
  
"I'd be very upset with you if you didn't show up this time,  
Ranma," Mars said dangerously.  
  
Barely being able to breath, Sailor Sun managed to nod. That  
wasn't fair ganging up on him like that.  
  
Serenity smiled sunnily. She turned to the youngest members  
of the Senshi present. "Well you two, are you ready to go  
home?"  
  
The younger Sailor Sun nodded dumbly as she stared at her  
older self being manhandled by the two most martial of the  
Inner Senshi.  
  
Light encompassed them, flinging back down the paths of time  
and space.  
  
-  
  
Ranma and Akane stumbled to a halt, feeling disoriented and  
confused for just a second. In front of them stood the  
familiar gates of Juuban High School.  
  
"Huh? What happened?" Ranma asked.  
  
"I don't know. But everything feels right now. Not like that  
strangeness where we were the only ones who remembered being  
married." His wife looked around, oddly bemused.  
  
"Hey, kids! You all right?" an older man called out from his  
car that was parked on the side of the road.  
  
"Uh, yeah. We're fine." Ranma shrugged his unconcern to  
Akane.  
  
"Could I talk to you? I've gotta offer for you."  
  
Cautiously, they walked over. His car was an older model,  
quite beat up. He grinned at them. Whoever he was, he was  
scruffy and had a pile of empty Styrofoam cups next to him.  
"I'm a reporter. No, really. You see, I'm here looking for  
the Sailor Senshi. I've got a map that shows this is the  
center of the youma attacks. I'm going for an exclusive. My  
paper is willing to pay big bucks for anyone who helps me  
get the interview of the century."  
  
"Oh, how neat. I don't know how much we could help. We just  
transferred here from Furinkan High over in the Nerima Ward.  
We haven't even seen the Sailor Senshi. Oh, I hope I do! It  
would be so neat!" Akane gushed with her most vacant  
expression.  
  
"Uh, we're gonna be late for school." Ranma grabbed her and  
pulled her quickly towards the school.  
  
"No problem. Just keep me in mind kids!" The reporter  
shrugged and scribbled a note on his pad of paper. He knew  
he was on the right track.  
  
"What was up with that?" Ranma asked no one in particular.  
  
"That's just some nosey reporter that's been bugging us  
lately," Ami said as she walked by, her nose in a book. "I  
liked it when they just 'happened' to ignore us. I'm more  
curious as to where you guys were. You missed all the fun."  
She sure didn't look more interested, as she continued to  
read her book.  
  
"Hey! We were following directions. We were asked to grab  
her, so we did. Wasn't our fault we got dragged into the  
future. We helped save the whole solar system!" Ranma puffed  
out his throat in pride.  
  
"Yeah, it had to do with... Solitude, I think. I'm having a  
tough time remembering though."  
  
Ami nodded understandingly. "It's hard to remember after the  
chronal disturbances of time travel. Regular teleporting is  
far less disorienting."  
  
"So, everything is back to normal?" Akane asked.  
  
"Uh huh," Ami replied.  
  
"Ranma! Akane! You're back!" Usagi squealed in delight,  
leaping up from her desk. She grabbed Akane in a tight hug.  
  
Ranma felt a slight difference from their future ruler.  
"Say, why is she-"  
  
"-here before class? I think Usagi has quit hiding from the  
future. She's starting to grow up." Ami slipped into her  
seat, still reading her book.  
  
"I'm probably not going to understand what you're talking  
about, am I?" Ranma asked seriously.  
  
Ami looked up from her book and smiled shyly. "I think you  
could. You just have to apply yourself. You're smarter than  
you think. You just have to try."  
  
"... Yeah. Maybe." But did he want to tap into the  
intelligence that his past life had showed him he had? Then  
again, he had adjusted to his cursed form too. It was just  
more of the same thing. It didn't change what he is now,  
just that in the past, that he was something else.  
  
"Come on, Ranma! Quit acting so gloomy!" Akane called out  
from across the room where she was sitting down."  
  
Ranma smiled and trotted over. Somehow, if he still had  
Akane, it didn't seem to worry him as much.  
  
-  
  
Epilogue to follow 


	4. Epilogue

Black Moon: Eclipse of the Sun - Epilogue

Ranma stared out at the massive curve of the Sun beyond the windows of his now ancient home. The latest disaster was dealt with, the kingdom was again safe and he had more _pressing_ issues at hand. He walked over to the desk where he worked on his equations and dreamed of fixing his most colossal mistake. In either life, he mused silently.

Carefully, as if the gilded envelope was a cobra readying to strike him, he picked up his invitation. His very _strongly_ worded invitation to the private party of Queen Serenity. With a sigh, he realized that this was more likely something of a business meeting in a semi-casual atmosphere.

He picked at his vaguely-military dress uniform and frowned at his reflection in the polished, golden surface of the metal that made his private home and retreat. Should he go as he was? No, if he was there the other, lesser guardians could be too.

And if Sailor Io was there, this was the utterly wrong form to be in. There was too much pain to get past.

A moment's concentration chilled the air around him, condensing water vapor onto his skin. The chilling embrace brought a waver and suddenly he was shorter and definitely female. His magically enchanted clothing automatically conforming to a pale, golden dressing gown and her scarlet hair was swept up to one side.

She looked out the massive windows. She would have to do two jumps to get to Earth, as it was on the other side of the Sun. With a flash of blinding light, she disappeared.

"So, are we all ready?" the 'new' Queen Serenity asked her closest friends from either life.

Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Uranus were definitely ready and willing to do to help their troubled friends. Those two had been avoiding a confrontation from before even the great white freeze. But only recently had they discovered just _why_ there had been such a problem.

All of the Inner and Outer Sailor Scouts were here, wearing their gowns of gilt and satin. The Queen and King sat on their thrones, while their daughter sat near them in her smaller throne, cradling the baby form of the reborn Sailor Pluto who would be heir to the new home of the Gate of Time, the ninth planet Solitude that replaced the destroyed Pluto.

A majordomo entered and spoke up. "Sailor Sun, champion and protector to all." He stepped back to let Sailor Sun walk in.

Sailor Moon entered and walked up to the throne and bowed deeply and elegantly. "My Queen and King." She noticed Sailor Io being approached by Sailor Jupiter, who put her hand on Io's shoulder.

"Finally! There has come to my attention a matter of state that must be attended to. Sailor Sun, Sailor Io, stand forth!"

"Um?" Sailor Sun was not prepared for this. Was the Queen going to interfere with their problem. A very angry and determined expression plastered itself on her features. She started to take a step back when two of the Senshi standing behind her suddenly grabbed her in two very solid arm locks. "Hey!"

"Uh, uh! No running away this time!" Sailor Uranus said with a tight grin. She hooked her leg around Sailor Sun's, ready to drop her to the ground if she tried to escape.

"She's right. You two have been tip-toeing around each other for too long," Mars explained as she leveraged the hold a bit tighter.

"Hey!" Sailor Io snapped out.

"Io, please," Sailor Jupiter said into her ear. "It really is for the best." She led her friend and closest Senshi forward with no further fuss, though with her own unhappy expression.

"It has come to my attention why exactly you two have had your problems." Queen Serenity sighed and stood up and walked up to them. She took a deep breath and then shouted, "YOU IDIOTS! We're your friends and we could have helped you!" She gave them both a very angry look.

"But there's no cure," Sailor Sun mumbled. "I ruined everything. How could I let her down like that? I was no man at all."

"Well, luckily for you, you happen to be wrong. Sailor Mercury has determined the absolutely most failsafe way to fix your little problem," the queen pronounced.

All of the Sailor Senshi moved closer, even the lesser moons, until they were all joined hand in hand.

"The Silver Millennium Crystal can cure any ills, with enough power. With the power of the entire solar system, including the Sun, you will finally be healed, Ranma," Queen Serenity explained. "Join with us to remove your pain, to come back to us."

Power flowed into and through _all _of the Sailor Senshi until the light was blinding. Suddenly it dimmed.

"Well, that's that," the queen said with a smile that she turned to share with her husband.

A horrific thought suddenly occurred to Sailor Sun. "But using the Silver Millennium Crystal drains you! You could have been hurt!"

The queen rapped her knuckles on Sailor Sun's forehead. "That's why you all helped me. I think I might be missing a few minutes of my life, that is all. This is well worth that small cost. Besides, you have more important matters to deal with, don't you?" She pointedly looked from Sailor Sun to Sailor Io.

The two Sailor Senshi suddenly realized that everyone was waiting on them. Sun was released from her hold.

"Io... Akane? I don't know what to... say. I never stopped loving you, you know. It was just so painful, not to be able to give you the children you wanted. I couldn't stand hurting you like that." Sailor Sun just stared at her slippered feet.

"You hurt me by shutting me out, Ranma. I know those long years, trapped with you and finding out that we couldn't have children were tough on us, but I never, ever stopped loving you. Even when you made me so angry I wanted to pound you through a few walls. Don't shut me out." Sailor Io looked around. "Don't shut us out. Come home."

Suddenly, the two of them were holding each other tight, kissing each other as if their lives depended on it.

"Go get a couch, you two!" Sailor Venus shouted out after whooping ecstatically.

Everyone sighed. "It's 'go get a room', Minako," Mercury stated while looking up for some sort of divine intervention.

"It is?"


End file.
